Mark Of Athena MOA Chapter 1 by GreenSeas
by greenseas
Summary: This is my FanFiction of Rick Riordan's awesome sequel series "Heroes of Olympus" to "Percy Jackson and the Olympians". Hope this keeps you entertained until the real Mark of Athena comes out! To make this clear, this is only FanFiction, not my property.
1. Chapter 1

Percy

The stress of the last few days as well as exhaustion from the two battles he had faced was dawning on Percy. But in his heart he knew he wouldn't miss the ship landing for anything, except maybe seeing his mom, who must be as wrecked as Annabeth.

Frank and Hazel were by his side and trying to loosen up his mood, but despite his cool smile, Percy was in chaos. His mind raced through a million different possibilities, all ending badly. He pushed them aside but they resurfaced like a float bobbing in the sea.

_Sea! Sea._

He slipped away from his friends sides and came up to Reyna and asked her a five-minute leave. She shook her head apologetically. _I know how you feel,_was clearly the given message. Percy took a deep breath and stood forward with Reyna, keeping his eyes locked on the sea, its calming ebb and flow, its deep green color, even down to the little pieces of seaweed that floated…

_Seaweed Brain…_ his heart ached at the old nickname. He turned his eyes upward, where a great ship was floating down to land, its sails brought up unprofessionally, ropes whipping in the breeze like cut electrical wires. He silently pledged to himself that this Jason, son of Zeus, would not get the advantage of lifting the ship to sky when it was clearly meant for the sea. At the mast was a tall boy, with a thick chest and blond hair, looking straight at him.

Percy smiled, his tension slipping with the thought of new friends by his side. Annabeth still tugged at his every thought but it was becoming more of an excited tug than a frantic one. His thoughts flowed and ebbed like the sea as the ship came to an un-elegant, thudding landing. From the mast, Jason stepped down, jerkily raising a white flag of surrender up high. Despite it, his uneven movements added tension to the strings on noched bows and made swords rise a little higher behind Percy.

"Ave, to the Roman Camp, to its new praetors, to its returning ones, to its people and defenders, and to its new ally- GREECE!"

A massive roar came up from the Romans, one that was loud and clear at first but gained a higher pitch of uncertainty as Jason announced the alliance. The sound of their old praetor though, seemed to boost their spirits.

"The Great Prophecy has taken the interest of Juno, our great goddess, and she has claimed the importance of this becoming of friends, so let us put down our swords my people, and welcome those who will fight loyally by our sides against the undeserving, chaotic giants of Gaea!"- This was welcomed by a stronger cheer before turning into beaming smiles powered by the promise of battle- "For now, let us rest, before our great trip."

Jason stepped down fully, set the flagpole on the ground and became submerged is crowd generous in welcoming pats, and curious questions- mostly wondering if the Greeks really smelled as bad as their great-grandfathers had said.

Percy looked back to the mast, and found on it a loving face, framed by blond hair and capturing grey eyes. Without another thought, he began to walk-jog up the steps, and then finally broke out in full sprint before grasping Annabeth in a tight hug. She snapped out of her frozen state and hugged him back, hands clawing at his back, tears overwhelming her.

When they pulled apart, they looked at each other then kissed a long, sweet kiss before stepping back again. Percy looked out behind him. The Romans had fallen quiet; all their previous unwelcoming gazes softened to ones of sympathy, all except the bitter exclusion of Octavian, who seemed utterly disgusted.

"Those who have welcomed me here, I must express my thanks," Percy started. He took Annabeth's hand and led her to sit on the ship side, one over-looking a fairly deep part of the sea. "You have made up very kindly for the absence of my friends. You're going to have to excuse me though, 'cause- well, you know why!" He wrapped his arms around Annabeth's waist and pushed them off the side of the ship, bringing a collective gasp from the crowd before pulling any smiles from it.

Underwater, Percy imagined bubbles, thousands and thousands of them, visualized the forming in a giant, impenetrable air-pocket. He opened his eyes and they landed on Annabeth, dry like him. What would it be? A kiss? A hug? A squeal of his name? The answer was "none of the above." He got slapped.

"Do you understand what "stay put" means! Do you have any idea what was going through my head, Percy? Every time we got close to you, you sprinted off in some wild direction. Can you imagine what that made me think, you retarded piece of seaweed?" Annabeth was to her limit of emotional capacity, her hands shaking uncontrollably.

"Um…I dumped you for Ma Gasket?" Percy guessed. Annabeth pulled out an exasperated puff of air and threw herself around his arms. Percy hugged her tightly, thinking of nothing more than pulling out into the sea, unfound, away from the dangers and repetitive prophecies of the Greek world.

_Perce. Percy._Her calls went past his ears. "Hey, Jackson! You're leaking." Percy stepped away and glanced at his shorts, considering the possibility of him wetting himself under this kind of relief.

Annabeth laughed, "No, the _bubble_ is leaking!" It was in fact letting a steady stream of saltwater into their little sanctuary. Percy forced himself to concentrate on the building pool of water. In a second, the first few centimeters of the water whisked out of the semi-permeable wall of the bubble. The second layer moved out less elegantly. The final collection of water moved into the air almost sluggishly before plopping back down to their feet tiredly.

Annabeth trained her eyes Percy's face. "Demanding day, huh?"

"Hmm. Fought an army of dead Roman soldiers, shredded a glacier, got my memories back, and destroyed an egoistic giant with a god's face. Tiring stuff." He fell to the floor of the bubble, leaned his sore neck against Annabeth's shoulder before asking her, "How are you holding up?"

"So worried for that little seaweed infested brain of yours that I would have believed it!"

"What?"

"I would have believed it if you told me you dumped me for Ma Gasket." Both Percy and Annabeth shared a few tired laughs before falling onto each other, completely drained of any will to continue spreading a good impression now that they had each other. Everything else faded out into the murky expanse of the sea.


	2. Chapter 2

Annabeth

Percy's head was in her lap, and he was snoring quietly. Amazingly, the bubble held firm, though seawater continued to form at its bottom through some invisible fault line. The water had had a calming effect; its gentle tug on the bubble swayed it slightly, like a baby's cradle. Annabeth wondered what else Percy had mastered in terms of controlling bodies of water in the past eight months.

Eight months…the shock of his disappearance was still fresh, but it was more like remembering a nightmare than living it, now. Lost in such thoughts, she almost didn't notice the dark shape, rising from the bottom of the sea. It was shaped like a whale, with a large, intimidating body.

Annabeth shook Percy's shoulder, and he groaned. The whale's head instantly jerked in the direction of their bubble.

"Percy, there's a whale! A whale!" Percy rubbed his face and shook off her calls. "Negotiate with the damn whale, Percy!"

Percy began to get up, but the whale slammed into the bubble, with so much force that it dissipated in a shower of smaller bubbles. Annabeth fought the urge to close her eyes and looked around her. Percy was floating in the waters beside her; hands cradling his face, brows furrowed in pain.

Everything was going wrong, fast. They were just supposed to have a few minutes alone time before they resurfaced. Being attacked by a whale was not part of that plan!

Annabeth almost yelled his name, but stopped herself just in time, losing only a bit of air. As she tried to swim toward the water's surface, four meters above her, her foot caught on something. She looked down, panic building in her, and saw her foot was caught in a thick mesh of seaweed.

Percy regained his bearings and tried to work at the knots in the weeds, his eyes darting between Annabeth's foot and the whale, as if waiting for a bomb to explode. Annabeth, though numbed by the burning in her lungs, began to see the whale in better focus as it approached. In fact it wasn't a whale; it had front legs in the place of fins and blue-green scales like a reptile… a cetus!

Her heart began to pound, only making her lungs burn hotter, and hotter, and finally she blacked out, seeing, in tunnel vision, the creatures massive ruby eyes scan Percy hungrily before slamming into him before unconsciousness took over.


	3. Chapter 3

Piper

Reyna was mad. Really. Hey eyes looked slightly red and Piper felt sorry for her. Jason seemed quite oblivious to it all, but being a child of Aphrodite, she knew these things. Obviously, she had something for Jason, but how serious it was a guessing matter for Piper. Then Percy had unprofessionally made a scene and jumped off the side of the ship with Annabeth, and had been there now for seven minutes, and not once had he been spotted surfacing. That had sent the whole crowd into arguments, discussing everything from how cute the couple were – that was led by a few children of Venus-, to Jackson's immaturity, how he didn't deserve the title of Praetor.

The Ares cabin was helping though, distracting Romans with by sharing fighting techniques and creative swears. Despite it, Reyna was disappointed, especially at Percy, waving off Annabeth as if she expected it from a Greek girl.

Piper was a little intimidated by her, a little annoyed at her and a little jealous, but she promised herself that she wouldn't be as love-crazed as her siblings. Her thoughts were interrupted by a scream, and Piper's blood seemed to curdle, boil, and freeze, all at the same time.

Her feet flew toward the sound, moving with the crowd of Romans who had also gathered. At the water's edge they stopped, and took in the frightening sight: Annabeth half-floating in the waves, one arm wheeling into the water, propelling her in the direction of shore, the other curved around the chest of a bleeding Percy.

Jason immediately dived into the water, which must have required a lot of courage, being Zeus's son. Hazel Levesque jumped in after him. Piper began to order the Romans around, doing a much better job than Reyna who seemed to have lost all her powerful anger. Her charmspeak sent them flying, collecting blankets and towels, starting a campfire, throwing out floats for assistance, all the while looking at their comrades with the same confused expression, like: _Why are we listening to a graceus?_

In a matter of minutes, Jason and Hazel were back. Hazel was carrying Percy, using her shoulder to keep his head above the water line. Jason was helping Annabeth who was half-screaming at him to help Percy, half choking. At Piper's command, the Romans moved together like well-oiled gears, getting Annabeth to spit back water, helping Hazel lay Percy down without moving him, covering them in blankets and towels and heating them with campfire.

After the commotion had died down, Reyna, who had been busy calming Annabeth walked over to Percy. He was starting to blink and rise. He sat up on his elbows.

"Percy, before I take away your position as praetor, I'm going to give you a chance to explain." Reyna told him through gritted teeth.

Percy moved his palm back and forth over the back of his neck, wincing. "You know what a cetus is? A sea monster? Half whale, half land animal, half serpent? Me and Annabeth were underwater and it started circling us. Then Annabeth got trapped in a bunch of seaweed, and I was trying to untie her, and it charged into her, but I blocked its path." He said all this incredibly slowly, either to keep Reyna calm or to calm himself.

Reyna was quiet for a long time. When she did speak, her tone was neutral: "You went unconscious?"

"No, Annabeth did. When I got head-butted by the mutant thing, it made my pen- Riptide- fall out of my pocket. I turned it to a sword and cut Annabeth free, got her some air. Then I slayed the thing, but only after I got this cut. I passed out from the pain when we were coming back shore." Piper noticed a long gash on his thigh, which was being bandaged up by a daughter of Apollo.

"Who sent it?" she asked.

Percy looked to the girl in the white healer uniform and said with a half-smile, "Could be anyone. A lot of people are out to get me."


	4. Chapter 4

Percy

Percy was amazed at all the people the ship had brought to Camp Jupiter. He had assumed only Annabeth, and the bunch from the parchment: Jason, Leo, and Piper, would be coming. He laughed silently at his stupidity: they were going to fight an army of giants in Rome and Athens, and he planned on bringing only seven people.

Around Annabeth and him, a group had formed. Clarisse and her cabin mates were there, commenting on Percy's stupidity. Thalia was there, along with one of her hunters. The Stoll brothers and the more courageous of the Aphrodite cabin were talking to each other; Connor was talking up the two cabin mates while Travis was trying to get their wallets. The Hephaestus kids were toasting to their awesome ship with some of Athena's kids, who had probably helped in its making.

Annabeth and Percy had gotten over the sea monster incident and were walking around, talking to the rare kind Roman and touring the camp. Reyna came up to them.

"Percy, you have made a big scene, put yourself in danger, and neglected your responsibility as praetor. I'm beginning to doubt your worthiness of the title of praetor. Cetus or not, you must not-"

Annabeth interjected, "I doubt half the Romans were there to see the landing, Reyna. I've heard that formal introductions will be made at nightfall. Let's assess the damage done then?"

Reyna seemed surprised at her interruption, but regained her composure in a split second. "Agreed. Who do you belong to? Aphrodite?"

Percy suppressed a smile, and told her, "Daughter of Goddess of Battle Strategy. In charge of reconstruction of Mt. Olympus in the east." Reyna raised an eyebrow, turned up the side of her lip in a smile, like: _Oh, you might not be that bad after all…_

The evening darkened quickly and the Romans began to gather in the Field of Mars, where the war games were usually held. The nymphs that served food in the dining hall had set up chairs in front of a sloping section of land, like a stage. It was the only place Terminus trusted the Greeks to be together beside the Romans. Apparently, Greeks inside the Pomerian Line was not an option.

The Romans rested on chairs, beside some other demigods from Camp Half-Blood. The "stage" held most of the Greeks, as well as Reyna, and unfortunately Octavian.

As the crowd quieted, Reyna stepped forward and announced: "As the oldest praetor of this camp, I ask you to welcome the Greeks. They will introduce themselves, share the current condition of their camp, then we shall continue to discuss our plan against Gaea with some select Greeks and the centurions of each cohort."

The crowd was silent as Percy and Jason stepped forward. Behind Percy were Hazel and Frank who had slipped onto the "stage" at the last minute. Behind Jason were the guests from Camp Jupiter, including Annabeth.

"I am Jason Grace, son of Zeus, _former_ praetor of camp Jupiter." Jason said, throwing a wink at Percy when he said former.

"I am Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus/Vulcan, commander of Argo II." Percy heard a squeak from behind him, but decided that bringing attention on Hazel right now would not be good, so didn't turn to look.

"I am Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite, Venus, master of charmspeak." Piper muttered with an evil smile.

"I am Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, Minerva in Roman terms." Reyna was watching him closely, so Percy resisted the urge to add "architect of the century".

"I am Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, sister of Jason."

"What!" Percy and Reyna squeaked.

Thalia smiled and said in a superior voice, "While you, Reyna, were off performing the duties of a praetor, and when you, Percy, were off having smoochy time, I was meeting my long lost brother."

Jason grinned at the shocked Roman faces, but waved them off. "Neither of us knew the other was alive. Please, continue."

The remaining Greeks continued, and Clarisse, the Stolls, Athena's and Hephaestus's kids introduced themselves.

Jason offered a quick explanation of how they saved Hera and stopped Porphyrion from rising followed by Percy's side of the story, freeing Thanatos and crushing Polybotes's army.

The crowd began to go back to the barracks, leaving only the centurions, two children of each Greek god, and two children from each Roman god.

"How do we plan on beating Gaea and her giants?" Leo asked simply. The boy, who in the parchment had seemed happy-go-lucky, looked very disturbed and quiet.

All eyes turned to the children of Athena and Minerva, Roman and Greek.

"We need to find a way to divide our forces, both godly and mortal, so all the giants have a pair of fighters that can bring them down together." Annabeth said. "I doubt the gods will feel okay with demigods telling them what to do."

"Hera seems to think the other gods know what they have to do. Only my father is a problem, but I think I can convince him." At that moment, a bolt of electricity shot from a cloudless sky and struck Jason. In contrast with the screams and gasps, he just laughed. Looking up at the sky he said, "Like I said, I _think._" Percy smiled.

"So what's to decide?" Leo asked. "Percy with Poseidon, Jason, and Thalia with Zeus, and you, Annabeth with Athena, and so on." The ground rumbled with a sound almost like a purr.

"That's too simple. I think Gaea will expect that. But I don't think we can discuss this here. We're on land. She'll hear won't she?" Annabeth's question received uncertain nods.

"Jason, can you get us into the sky?" Thalia asked.

Jason let out a nervous chuckle, "Yeah.. that's a lot of people, sis."

"That's fine Jason, and plus, I don't think making our plans on controlling the gods in Zeus's territory will help us either." Annabeth told him, pointing at the sky, which was beginning to churn with clouds like a washing machine.

All eyes turned on Percy. "I can manage a bubble of air…probably just barely…but I won't be able to add any thoughts, keep anyone afloat in an emergency, and you'll have to find a way to get both yourselves as well as me back to shore, because I'll be exhausted."

"How is it that a son of Neptune is stronger than a son of Zeus?" One of the centurions in the crowd asked.

"I imagine creating a bubble is much less energy-demanding than suspending objects in air. Same as how creating powerful waves is harder than breathing underwater for Percy." Annabeth explained. Still, whether it was because they didn't trust the Greeks or because they would be in the feared Neptune's territory, the Romans were uneasy.

Reyna's word settled it all. "I see no better solution, so I say we go."

"I'll unload some of Argo II's dinghies." Leo offered. "When we get to a good location, we can jump off, anchor them down."

"Good, that'll get you a way to get us back to shore."

Piper raised her hand as if she was in school. Reyna nodded and she spoke: "Don't think I'm asking this because I'm a stupid daughter of Aphrodite. But why exactly do we need to be underwater? Isn't it good enough for us to be in it?"

"I just don't want us to take any chances." Reyna said.

"Even if it means Percy going unconscious for more than last time? I mean, he did a lot today, seems like. Fought dead Roman army, fought a live one made of giants. Got attacked by a sea monster…is this really a good idea?"

There was a short silence before Percy said, "This will be a chance for me to learn my limits. Better to zone out among friends than among enemies. Plus, this is more than just about me, or Jason, or Annabeth, whoever. It's about the future of everything. Like Reyna said, we can't put that to chance."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Leo wondered, breaking the tension with a smile.


	5. Chapter 5

Annabeth

The boats were lowered from the side of the great ship and everyone boarded, around fifty people. Annabeth was worried before, but now, with everyone huddled together and standing, she couldn't believe that Percy would be able to do it. But she needed to trust him. No, she couldn't do that, the stupid boy was too loyal to ever say no. She would just have to try to do her best to keep him concentrated, away from interruptions…

…but, that was a problem already. If the others agreed to her plan, she would need Percy. She probably would. Maybe not. _Ugh! _ Her questions had no real answers, and her thoughts always ended with questions like: _Or will it? Am I sure? _Being a daughter of Athena meant you had a lot on your mind.

In fifteen minutes, everyone was boarded, thanks to the calming voices of Piper and Reyna. Annabeth was in a boat with Percy, Hazel and Leo. Everything was awkward, because while Percy sat up right beside Annabeth, Hazel and Leo were trying to keep as far away from each other as possible. Hazel fixed her gaze on the darkening horizon, as if one peek would have her explode; Leo was trying to sneak in as many glances at Hazel as possible.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows slightly at their direction. Percy just shook his head sadly. Reyna, who was on another equally awkward boat with Jason and Piper, called back , "Find us the closest trench you can feel, preferably the deepest one!"

Percy was about to shout back, but Annabeth clamped a hand over his mouth and answered for him.

"What was that about?"

"There are fifty people in all Perce, you can't strain yourself." Percy just shook his head again, but he was smiling.

"Stop that! You're using your facial muscles!" But Annabeth was grinning and they both burst out laughing, making the situation even more awkward.

Around eight minutes after leaving shore, Percy called for a stop. "Lower your anchors, but be careful, the earth might just swallow you up with it."

After that comment, everyone jumped before anchoring. Only a few dinghies went down, so everyone was in good mood. Some people clearly didn't know how to swim, and nobody really blamed them. The seas were just not the Romans' thing.

Annabeth slid of the dinghy, Hazel by her side, and swam to the rest of the crowd. Some had the good sense to bring floats- pieces of plastic, and even empty water bottles- and were passing them out to those who were flailing around in panic. The moment their dinghy's anchor struck ground, it went down under.

_Clear message, Gaea. You hate me and my boyfriend. Point taken! _Annabeth thought. Surprisingly, no answer came back. Maybe it was the water.

"Dive into the bubble once you see that is big enough to hold you." Percy told them.

He dived under and Annabeth watched him. He was practically floating halfway between the water line and the ground without even moving his legs. A flurry of bubbles gathered around him and enveloped him. Then it grew and grew until it was large enough for five people. Slowly, centurions began to enter. The sixth person slipped through the semi-permeable wall of the bubble. The wall quivered and dissipated, and all but Percy came up to surface.

This was no good. Only six people? Annabeth decided that she would share her idea and hope to inspire some more. She dove down and grabbed Percy's, whose chest was heaving heavily, which extremely weird to see in a human who was underwater.

When they surfaced she said, "Percy, if you start with the bubble around you, you are cutting yourself of from your source of power. Try creating a bubble in front of you."

Percy nodded, "Good idea. I'll try i-"

"Wait! Is there any way I can talk to you when we are in the bubble…without breaking your concentration. Or maybe some way to talk to Poseidon himself?"

Everyone who heard frowned, confused, but they all knew enough about daughters of Athena/Minerva to not ask her what on earth she needed that for.

"I think he'll listen to you. Should warn him first?" Percy asked.

"No. I'm not really sure I'll need to. Just try what I told you, make a bubble that doesn't hold you. You'll be in the water and hopefully that will make you stronger."

Three failed attempts later, a bubble was formed around the fifty people. It was slightly cramped, but seeing how Percy had done before, it was a miracle. His eyes were screwed shut, knees drawn up, and his face was in his hands again, but it was working. The bubble was precisely half between the water line and sand, and no current could budge it now.

Annabeth got straight down to business. No point in extending Percy's pain. "Okay, so there is no way we're putting a child with his or her immortal parent."

That was received by an instantaneous roar of disagreement. Outside, Percy's groan could barely be heard. But soon enough they were quiet again.

"We must be quick and we must be quiet!" said Reyna. "Continue Annabeth."

"Right. So look, if I was with my mother in the battlefield, then we would both have only one weapon- cunning, strategy, brains. Take that away, or use its weakness against it, and we would have no last resort, no 'Plan B'. Gaea would send one of her strongest giants to outdo us. Now let's suppose that you, Clarisse, and your cabin mates were out there, but instead of your father by your side, you had Athena. Let's suppose you get a remarkably strong giant. There's no chance you'll beat it. So you follow Athena's orders and finish it with a trap, and it'll be faster because you're strong too. Let's say you have a smart giant. You would be able to hurt it with no problems, plus you get some tips from my mom, get the job done faster.

"Get what I'm saying?"

Fifty heads bobbed up and down. Annabeth continued: "Of course, it's not as simple as pairing smarts with strength. But it's a start. I'm sure of one thing though. Jason, you and Percy are extremely powerful…but if you were with your parents, then the giants would just lure you out of your area of comfort. It'd be easy to do that to Percy: just capture someone close to him and show that they're in danger, and he'll come running. He'll jump out the Tiber, or the Mediterranean Sea. Poseidon would follow Percy. And they would both be toast.

"Pair him with someone else though, for example Zeus, and they have to two weapons, just like my first scenario. They could buy each other time." Clearly, it was the best idea, and very logical, but… Zeus with Percy… it would be like living on the sun. Completely unheard of.

"So then I would be paired with… Poseidon?" Jason ventured. "Is that why you need to speak to him?"

"No. We are in his territory. He hears us. He would have made it clear if he had any objections. Isn't that right, Lord of the Seas?" The bubble swayed gently and a puddle of water appeared at her feet. In its clear surface was Poseidon's face, mouth moving, but the sound of his voice was only in her head.

_You are very intelligent. Even for a daughter of Athena. _His voice was really like the sound of the sea, a little gravelly, deep, echoic, and smoothly changing pitch, like the sound of waves swelling and receding.

_Thank you,_ Annabeth thought. _But I have a favor to ask._

_Yes?_

_Can you talk to Hades? _

_What for, dear? _Annabeth couldn't help but smile, though she must have looked like a lunatic, smiling at a picture of a man in a Hawaiian shirt in the water. But still…"Dear".

_I… Maybe he would help Nico find the doors of death._

Poseidon was silent for some time. _I shall tell him. But whether he will listen, or if it will work is in the hands of the Fates._

_Thank you... One more favor?_

_Yes, child?_

_So... you _will_ fight with Percy's friends, Zeus's kids, Jason and-?_

_Thalia. _Poseidon interrupted. _Yes. I always liked that one. Spunky. Of course, dear. I'm not as egoistic as my brothers. Then again, I tend to be moody…but that's another matter all together. _Poseidon's face smiled in the water._ But I am distracting Percy with my presence. I shall leave._

They water rippled and dripped out of the bubble. Its floor became more solid.

"Annabeth, did you just talk to him?" Frank asked.

"Yes, did you hear?"

"Only his voice, not yours." The others in the bubble stared at Frank. "I'm a descendant of Poseidon." He turned back to Annabeth and asked, "What's in the hands of the Fates?"

"I asked him to ask Hades to find Nico and the doors of death… I didn't know who else would have a chance at it." Everyone was silent, and Annabeth had a funny feeling in her stomach and now she was wondering if she had any right to make such a drastic action.

Her tension was broken by Reyna's commenting, "I think that's the best. No one else would have much of an idea of its location."

"Shouldn't someone be paired with Hades though? Just in case… Nico…" the speaker, a Roman demigod of Minerva, trailed off.

"I'm sure my hunters wouldn't mind being with Hades. Searching for Nico, that's the least we could do after what happened to his poor sister…" Thalia said, eyes beginning to water.

"All right. But you stay with your brother and Poseidon."

Thalia nodded.

"Right," Reyna started. "Zeus with Percy. Poseidon with Jason and Thalia. Hades and the Hunters of Diana. Minerva and the Ares and Mars kids. Mars with the Athena and Minerva group. Where do you plan to be, Annabeth?"

"We'll just wait and see. Let's continue. I think Artemis, Diana, should be paired with any group doing activity in the woods. Apollo and his children won't have any specific location. They should be spread out, so they can cheer us up and heal us. Children of Nike should also be spread out. Aphrodite/Venus should be with the Hephaestus and Vulcan kids." This was received with grumbles from the children of the latter god. They had no intention of working with someone who made their godly father sad and angry. "Listen. Cyclopes, they get distracted easily. By pretty things especially. If you could design a killing machine, and make it look desirable with Aphrodite's help…well it might work like how the golden apples distracted Atalanta."

"And Hephaestus? Who will be his group?" Leo asked.

"I thank Hecate's kids. They might help with animating any metal creations by Hephaestus."

The bubble shook suddenly and violently. All eyes turned to Percy, who was curling up more and more into a ball, knuckles white as he hugged his knees, face so scrunched up, he could have been a wrinkled old man. But it he wasn't losing his grip; the bubble was as solid as ever. It was the ground, the coral infested floor of the sea that was shaking up the currents. A slab of rock jerked up violently and bubble swayed, no longer like a baby's cradle. The water turned murky in the dust kicked up from the mini earthquake.

Annabeth and Reyna exchanged a glance, sharing the same suspicion. _Gaea. _ Without any question, the Greek and Roman demigods nervously pressed their bodies against the bubble's wall. At first no one could move through it, and Percy could be heard groaning, his voice echoing from the walls of the bubble as if they were a part of him. Then after the first few people pushed through, everything except the roof and floor of the bubble became soft. In less than a minute, everyone except Annabeth and Jason and Reyna were out. Reyna nodded to them both and stepped out. Jason was about to push through but he turned and asked, "You plan on coming, Annabeth?" He smiled and Annabeth smiled back, saying, "Sure."

It was like stepping through a waterfall into an ocean. Behind her, the floor of the bubble distorted, as if searching for any passenger. She swam to Percy, enveloped him in her arms and swam up, feeling Percy relax and go limp.

When they reached the surface, he did a soft hiccup and then breathed slowly, like he was asleep. Pressing her back against the surface of the water and her arm around his chest, she realized he _was _asleep. Her eyes stung from being open in saltwater. She swam to the nearest boat and someone hauled both her and Percy up. Then she closed her eyes, head throbbing.


	6. Chapter 6

Percy

The sound of the sea was ever present in his ears. He felt like he had just taken a warm shower in the middle of a cold winter. He had practically no energy left in him other than that enough to keep him breathing. He could hear though.

"He doesn't look that bad for someone who kept a bubble strong enough to hold the weight of fifty warriors afloat in the water."

"I wonder if he was sleeping underwater."

"How's that even possible?"

"When we were underwater, after the ship landed, he fell asleep on me and there was no difference to the bubble. Good gods, he must be so tired. Two battles, and now this. All in one day."

Percy only realized then that one of the voices was Annabeth's. His head wasn't fuzzy, really, just very light and comfortable. _I am going to be out for a while…so sleepy._

He sighed peacefully, and reached out his hand, grasped the closest one and whispered _Annabeth_, and closed his eyes again, hoping he was holding the right hand.


	7. Chapter 7

Thalia

"He doesn't look that bad for someone who kept a bubble strong enough to hold the weight of fifty warriors afloat in the water," I commented

"I wonder if he was sleeping underwater."

"How's that even possible?" I wondered.

"When we were underwater, after the ship landed, he fell asleep on me and there was no difference to the bubble. Good gods, he must be so tired. Two battles, and now this. All in one day."

Thalia nodded her head. Even she, who had once been on the run from monsters with two others to take care of- Luke and Annabeth- had never run into such situations often. Percy sighed in his sleep and Annabeth smiled. Then he gripped Thalia's hand so tight she would have soon lost blood circulation and whispered _Annabeth. _ She shared a look with Annabeth full of suppressed laughs, pried his hand off and tossed it carelessly at her. She caught it and set it gently on her knee.

When they reached shore, Leo and Frank offered to carrying Percy to the Fifth Cohort barracks. Annabeth wouldn't have agreed if it wasn't for her being too tired to carry him. But she stayed by his side the whole time. Thalia felt sorry for her. She obviously cared for him beyond anything else and now they were going straight into a war which would probably leave them dead. They might end up in Elysium… but what could beat being plain alive?

I walked over to my brother, who was sitting on the beach, looking quite lost. Some distance to my left, I saw Piper, who turned away immediately when she saw me, and unfortunately for her, bumped right into a spying Reyna. In my head, I threw up fireworks. I loved having that effect on people. Both girls mumbled a sorry and headed off in opposite directions.

My brother must have noticed me and my gaze, because when I looked at him again, he was staring back and forth between Reyna and Piper with a pained expression.

"What's up lil' bro? Girl trouble?" He cracked a smile and nudged my arm.

"Technically, we're pretty much the same age now."

"Actually, _lil'_ bro, my tree years count. So I'm still bigger than you. Anyway, do you want some advice or what?"

"On what?" he asked innocently.

"Oh, you know, the two lovesick girls you're torturing with your every move. Look, I'm no Aphrodite, but those two like you, and it's about time you made a decision." Jason looked at Thalia like she wasn't human…which in a sense, she wasn't completely.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Thalia said defensively. Jason just shook his head like, _ I can't believe we are related…_ But he was smiling, so Thalia decided not to kill him.

"So who do I choose?" Jason asked stupidly.

"Who do you like?" Thalia replied, talking deliberately slowly, just to annoy Jason.

Jason scowled and said, "Umm…."

"Yeah well, _Umm _ is not an option. Have fun lil' bro! Oh, and please, call me when you dump her so I can get her slapping you on tape!" Her voice was cheerful, and clearly meant to annoy, but Jason knew she was just trying to break the tension.

Thalia, clearly disappointed in his figuring out her trick, walked off, toward the Fifth Cohort Barracks; Annabeth would need an old friend.


	8. Chapter 8

Annabeth

Percy was still sound asleep, barely moving, chest rising ever so faintly. Thalia, Piper, Leo, Jason, Frank, Reyna and an awkward Hazel had come by to visit. A dinner was held- which Annabeth missed- and soon enough she found herself waking up slouched in her chair, her copy of Architect's 101 flat open on her lap. Percy had not moved.

Another day passed. Then another. Then again, one more. On that third day, Reyna came in.

"Worried?"

"No. I know he needs rest. What he did required a lot of energy…but I can't help but miss him."

"Then you are fine. I doubt you need me here." Reyna raised her eyebrows, though it seemed like she was forcing herself to do it. She knew how it was to be kept from a friend. But it wasn't helping her or Annabeth.

"That's alright, Reyna." The tall girl nodded curtly and went toward the door. As she was about to step out, Annabeth called, "Thanks, Reyna. You'll be fine too. I'll make sure of it."

Her face registered no emotion, but her head rose slightly then dipped to the side. _That's probably the equivalent of a hug to a Roman praetor, _Annabeth told herself. _We must be best friends now. _

Jason and Hazel came by, brought Annabeth her meals. Hazel was sitting beside Annabeth, they had become great friends during the last few days. But Annabeth still felt that she was hiding something, the way she glanced nervously and Percy all the time, like she needed him. Despite that minor glitch, Annabeth was very fond of Hazel. Jason had also become closer to Annabeth. But he talked to her like she was his parent, not a friend.

"When will he wake up, Annabeth? I'm beginning to get worried…we need him for this quest."

Hazel's face brightened a little, like the some of the weight that was holding her down had been removed. "I don't know, Jason. Let's hope to the gods that it'll be soon."

"And Poseidon?" Hazel asked.

"He's only told me to be patient." Annabeth sighed. "Patient," she repeated.

Soon enough Annabeth fell asleep to Hazel and Jason's steady flow of words. When she woke up, she had slid down to lay on the bed where she had been sitting. Her breath was short. Percy's arms were around her.

"Stupid piece of seaweed. You had me worried as Hades."

"You had me shocked, too. Daughter of Athena, whining around a son of Poseidon," he muttered.

"How are you?" she asked.

"A little weak. I think I'll take a dip in the ocean." And with that he rose, like he hadn't been out for the past three days. He had a strange aura around him. One of power. _I wonder what that _test of limits _did to him, _Annabeth wondered.

She didn't object though. Seeing him standing was enough.


	9. Chapter 9

9 Percy

The water was cool and refreshing. But it was crowded, full of all kinds of fish, sharks and shrimp. Even the coral seemed to be crawling forward to him. The fish stared with wide eyes an Percy.

"What?" he demanded.

The group muttered a few "nothing"s and "nevermind"s all ending with a whispered "master."

"Why are you calling me that? Poseidon is your master." The fish snickered in unison.

"Don't you _know?_" one asked.

_What? _Percy thought. The fish snickered again. _You can read my thoughts! Oh, just great._

One fish, one of the tiniest and wimpiest of the group anxiously hurried on, "Oh, if you just think abou-" Then a larger fish nudged him and the poor yellow coral fish fell silent.

_Testing. Testing. _Percy thought, willing his thoughts to stay his. He tried a stretch: _Fish are stupid creatures. _ A few corals moved their fans from side to side, as if looking for a missing person, but the fish remained glaring at the yellow coral fish.

_So tired he thought… I wish I was at home on my favorite spot on the couch… _

Following their own command, the waters around him turned solid, and he found himself sitting on what looked like a big, wobbly, see-through throne. It looked nothing like his old couch back in Manhattan, which was deformed and stained on both sides of the cushions. But it felt like home, exactly like it. The fish nodded approvingly.

"So how exactly did I become…what did you call me? Master?"

"Controlling the sea for so long, holding so many people, we were impressed. You aren't officially our master. We may defy you," the big fish bragged. "But we, um, think you're cool!" it ended lamely.

"Right. So hey, you wanna help me out?" Percy asked, thinking of some way to cheer up Annabeth.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" the fish chanted. "Help Percy Jackson!"

"Can you get me a pearl?" Percy asked.

The fish scowled menacingly and snarled together, like a grumpy choir: "Stupid demigods, always giving us orders! GO FIND YOUR OWN- _censored_- PEARLS!"

They sped off but the water throne stayed solid. The yellow coral fish remained, wiggling its tail nervously.

"They're just grumpy. You really _are_ their master."

Percy was still confused. "And Poseidon?"

The little fish, that seemed so insignificant, shook his head wisely. It reminded Percy of Ella, the red harpy, who was in a peculiar relationship with Tyson. "Of course, your father will always be our true master. But when you controlled the water for so long those days before, it became a part of you. But the gift will only be of use here. It will not aid you in Rome, which is where you are headed, according to the rumors." It ended the last sentence in a slightly higher pitch, questioning.

"Yes. We're going to both Rome and Athens. Thank you…uh…"

"Stanley," the fish provided.

Percy tried to keep a straight face. "Thanks Stanley."

The ground began to rumble, like gravel under feet. It was even more violent than the shake of his blurry memory, before his three-day coma. _Gaea is learning that you are more rebellious and powerful than she thoughtl, Percy. She might not consider you a pawn anymore…_

The voice was like Poseidon's, but more feminine. It was the voice of currents. They were warning him. Stanley raised his eyebrows- er, eye ridges- like: _That's you cue!_

Percy swam up to the surface. If he got onto land he would be more vulnerable to Gaea's tricks. But Stanley had already left and the auras of the water currents seemed to have also fled. What choice did he have? And then he saw Annabeth on the shoreline, standing gingerly on her tiptoes, periodically picking her feet out of the sinking sand.

When he got to shore, he enveloped her in a hug. Her voice in his semi-conscious state had been like a taunting. Like he was a donkey and Annabeth was the carrot dangling in front of his face that kept him going, kept him from losing his grip.

"Listen, how do you feel? Reyna wants us to leave as soon as possible. For Camp Half-blood. Then Rome." Annabeth's voice was worried, but excited, too. She must miss their old camp more than him. But probably because she hadn't yet seen the perks of the Roman camp. No doubt she'd been standing by his side for all three days.

"I'm okay. But I think we should hold another meeting. I didn't think…this soon…and you haven't even seen the camp. You haven't met my friends, and then there's a lot of other things to work out…" Percy trailed off, suddenly remembering Hazel. "Hey, how's Hazel doing since, you and Leo came back…?"

"Hazel…she seemed like she was waiting for you to wake up. Other than that, she's been locked up in her room, not talking to anyone, not even Frank. That, I suppose, is not normal?"

"No. I think we need to figure that out, too. This is too fast."

Annabeth smiled a devious smile. "Well? What are we waiting for? Let's go ruin Reyna's plans!"

Percy had to smile at her enthusiasm. However forced it was.

They walked to the Praetor's housing area. Jason had moved back in; the door was slanted open and inside you could see him, sitting with Leo, heads bent in conversation. When they knocked on Reyna's door, she opened immediately.

"Ah, Percy. Glad to see you back. Now we can proceed with our plans." She acknowledged them both with a nod.

"That's what I'm here to talk about. This is too fast, Reyna. We need more planning." Reyna frowned but stepped back from the door to let them in. They sat on a purple couch and waited for a response.

"What are your arguments?" she asked, getting straight to the point.

"We haven't had time to discuss strategies, roles, get organized. We need to make sure the Romans and Greeks get well acquainted to avoid disputes. And then… we have some issues…between campers. They can't be left to be figured in the midst of war. They will be distractions." Annabeth stated, with the confidence of a professional lawyer.

Reyna's expression had soured. "Those issues might be better left untouched," she said, deliberately bitter. "Don't argue about that with me on that topic Annabeth. Do not. You have no right."

Percy was confused on how he should react. Annabeth, though, had humbly turned her gaze downwards. "I know. But I wasn't speaking of that." She looked up and said, "There are other matters, Reyna. You of all people should know the state of you campers."


	10. Chapter 10

10 Annabeth

Reyna stood up indignantly and narrowed her gaze on Annabeth. Annabeth half smiled raised her brow like: Whatchya gonna do?

"Should have known a daughter of Bellona would have wanted to act so irrationally," she commented dryly. Reyna's hands tightened into fists at her side, and she stated, "You are under my camp, under my rules. I have full power over you here. Maybe you should consider your actions a little more closely."

Suddenly Percy was on his feet too.

"That's enough. Both of you. Here we are, practically leading the Greeks and Romans to a battle where we expect them to be allies. But their own leaders can't even keep their cool. This is not happening again. It will not leave our mouths." He paused and looked at them both. Annabeth was staring at Reyna and Reyna back, but the intensity had gone. "Make up. Shake hands, apologize, and settle out your problems."

"WHAT?" Reyna and Annabeth said simultaneously. Percy was treating them both like a bunch of lousy kindergarteners. But he had already left the room.

An uneasy silence fell over them both. Then Annabeth sat down, or to be more exact, threw herself down.

"Not fun is it? Being ignored by your boyfriend?" Reyna asked menacingly.

Annabeth sighed, not bothering to comment. Then she looked up. "You and Jason…you weren't really…like me and Perce. Were you?"

"Could have been. Given just some time." Reyna said sullenly, and then she too sat down, this time right next to Annabeth. Annabeth remembered how she had felt when the gods had offered Percy immortal life. If he had said yes…she would have lost Percy and Luke in one fell swoop.

"I'm sorry, Reyna… You know…I had another boy with me when I was in Camp Half-Blood. Luke. He…he killed himself. Kronos had captured his body. Percy gave him the knife…it was a big risk…Kronos could have captured Luke back at anytime. It was all dependant on Luke's willpower. And he succeeded. For better or for worse." She paused, pushing back the tears that were starting to overwhelm her. "Percy was offered immortality afterwards. And I…I thought he…" She stopped, sucked in her cheeks, grit her teeth and straightened herself. She looked vacantly at the wall before Reyna awkwardly put her hand on Annabeth's.

"You're really going to be good girl and listen to him?" Reyna asked.

"Who? What?" Annabeth asked, befuddled, because she was rarely confused.

" 'Make up. Shake hands, apologize, and settle out you problems.' Really? Daughter of logical Athena, maybe. But you don't look to me like the quiet type."

Annabeth smiled. "Oh believe me. We're not going to let him enjoy his authority for long."

"My sister's going to love this." Reyna said happily. Annabeth realized this was the first time she had seen Reyna smiling. Otherwise, she always talked and walked in a stiff, formal manner. Her face never welcomed any expression to sit on it. Her eyes were always searching, and gave an impression of superiority. Her mouth was set in a tight line that never faltered.

"We're going to have some fun, you know, Reyna? You, me, your sister, Thalia and Clarisse. You know her?" Annabeth doubted Reyna would give her the satisfaction of hearing a 'no', but who knows?

"Sure. The blondish one. Real big. Ares?"

"Yes! How'd you guess?" They both laughed. Then they both looked at each other like: Did…we just become…friends?


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, guys, thanks for the awesome feedback, I appreciate it more than you know! Sorry for this short chapter, but I was facing a bit of writer's block. Drawing often cures writer's block for me so I ended up drawing Annabeth in between writing. I thought I'd share it with you guys, and I hope you like it: (can't post a url, so type in greenseas, add two f's, write dot blogspot, and dot com. :D cheatin like a boss ) **

Percy

"How could he look exactly the same as Leo? Are you sure?" Percy knew it was a stupid question to ask; he'd seen the picture of Sammy Valdez himself. There was no mistake…but coincidence maybe? No, that was just wishful thinking these days.

"Same face, hair, even his stupid big brown eyes. Percy, what, in the name of Hades, am I going to do!" Hazel was screaming into her pillow, curled up into a ball.

"Listen Hazel. I know this is not the right time…but where's Frank?"

"I told him to leave. He can't know about this till I figure it out first. Okay?" Hazel asked, trying to come off as threatening, despite whispering.

"Of course. But Hazel, you have friends all around. If you want…I could even talk to Leo. I needed to anyway. Get to know Jason and his crew."

Hazel peeked out from the pillow. She looked like a five year old girl, small, wide-eyed. "Okay."

"Alright, then. I'm going to go now."

"Percy? What do you think happened?" Hazel asked suddenly.

Percy blinked, and tried to stop himself from showing any surprise. "Me… Hazel, I think…I think Gaea brought him back from the dead."

Hazel raised her eyebrows slightly. "Why would she do that?"

"To mess you up. All those memories, they have the power to distract you in war…and I know Ella said otherwise, but Gaea might be trying to instigate a blackout in you. You are one of the seven that will bring down Gaea and her Giants. She hates us all."

Hazel nodded weakly. "Percy, Leo hasn't seen me. If he remembers me, then he'll be more open if he doesn't know I'm here. Okay?"

"Sure." Percy smiled and continued, "As long as you stay just a little bit sane, I'll do my best to find out everything. Okay?"

Hazel returned a wide grin and repeated, "Okay"


	12. Chapter 12

Leo

The Roman camp was so large; all his previous awe at Camp Half-Blood was wiped away. It was just amazing. And the city, where the Romans could marry and grow old was a big hit to the other Greek campers. When the tour guide, one of the centurions, had given an introduction of the camp, the whole Greek crew had laughed. 'Ha ha! Good one!' they had said.

The Romans had looked at each other, confused. When people finally began to realize that the Romans weren't kidding, there was silence. Leo hadn't really thought much about it. He didn't have any family left to start over in Camp Jupiter. And even if he did, that was only if they won against the giants.

He was sitting with Jason and Piper in Jason's praetor's quarters. Percy apparently hadn't even considered taking it.

"He's someone I'd like to have beside with me in battle," Jason said, smiling.

"Because he won't touch your stuff?" Leo wondered. Piper cracked a smile and Jason suppressed his. There was a knock at the door.

Percy entered. "Have a minute, guys?" he asked warily. He was staring curiously, looking a little confused at one of the walls. Leo concentrated and realized laughs were faintly escaping from the other room- Reyna's quarters.

Piper and Jason both looked down awkwardly. "Huh," Percy said, still looking at the wall. Then he looked back at the three of them.

"So, then. I just thought, seeing we're some of the seven, we should get to know each other."

"Sure," Jason started. "You know me. Jason Grace, Thalia's sister, son of Zeus."

"Right, right," Percy said a little impatiently. "Any powers? I know first-hand your sister can summon some kickass lightning bolts."

Jason raised his eyebrows. "Uhh…okay! I can fly, a little, hold up maybe one or two people."

"Any power over the winds, Jason?" Percy questioned.

"Not that I know of."

"Try it. Tell me how that turns out… Later," he ended quickly, seeing Jason close his eyes. "Anyway, how about you Piper?" Leo frowned. He was always last, of course, who would care about the son of ugly Hephaestus? _Sorry, dad. But, hey, it's the truth. _

"I'm daughter of Aphrodite. I can master charmspeak pretty well. Wanna see?" She asked mischievously.

"Yeah, maybe some other time. And you, Leo?" Percy scanned Leo thoroughly before adding, "I've heard quite a lot about you. Want to clarify?" Percy smiled.

Leo smiled back. He just might come to like this guy. "Son of Hephaestus. I can make a hell of an automaton, and, oh yeah, I have power over fire."

"And he fixed up a giant dragon gone rogue. Got us to Hera in time. Couldn't have done anything without him. He's great!" Piper added.

"He's great!" Percy repeated in a monotonous voice. Then he looked at Piper and said, "I thought I said 'maybe some other time'?"

Piper was smiling. But Leo wasn't. _Poor Festus…I miss you buddy. _

Percy continued, stopping Leo from slipping away. "I want to make sure that all of us have no secrets. Secrets are dangerous, and I know this by experience. Having one means adding one more weakness to your allies. As unimportant as they may seem, you must not risk it. Is that understood?"

Jason nodded, and Piper did the same, a little uncertainly. Leo stared vacant-eyed at Percy. _Bingo, _Percy thought. "Leo?"

"Give me a second," he said, still looking lost. Percy frowned a little, but it was more sympathetic than disappointed. "That's all right. We all know it is. Jason?"

"I don't have much. I came here when I was little. Became preator. Then we switched spots…and you know the rest."

"Is there anyone important who Gaea could use as bait for you?" Percy asked.

"Well, Piper, Leo, Reyna, and Thalia…I can't believe I have a sister…" He trailed off.

Percy smiled and said, "I think that's easier to believe than finding out that your half-brother is a Cyclops."

"What!" Jason and Leo asked. "Guys! Don't be rude!" Piper chided, unfazed.

"Anyway, back to the point. Piper, who are your weaknesses?" Percy continued.

"My father. He's…he means a lot to me." Piper said gently, looking distracted. "And of course there's these two! Airhead and Flameboy, here." She burst out, regaining her previous charm.

"All right then. Leo. What are your weaknesses? _Who_ are your weaknesses?"

"As for who, I got nobody. I'm a loner." Leo said coolly. When Percy had asked if he'd understood, he'd feared that his voice would crack if he said it. But it didn't, and he relaxed. His happiness though, was short-lived.

He saw a flicker of emotion of Percy face and was stuck between whether it was suspicion or sympathy. He decided it was both, but then anger started to build up in him. Why was it that people always thought badly of him? Wasn't it bad enough that he'd lost his mother, his life? Did he need to lose his friends, too? Wasn't it enough for Percy? He no longer felt like sharing his "what". "You can find the other weakness yourself. Seeing how you're already scrutinizing me, you'll find it under no time!" Leo burst out, anger lining his forehead in straight creases. He stood up and went to the door, only to trip as it opened before him.

Before him was a baby-faced boy, his head paired with an out-of-place buff body. He looked Asian, with slanted eyes, slightly tan skin. The boy looked at him, uninterested at first, then suddenly, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. Leo was frustrated beyond imagination.

"Is this _him, _Percy?" the boy spat out, disgust clearly in his tone.

"What is this? Am I some kind of lab rat! Explain!" Leo growled.

Percy sighed quietly, rubbed his brow then replied, "Come with me, Leo." He promptly slid out the door. Leo followed him, but his stride was brisk and his footfalls were hard with the anger in him. When they reached a quiet spot, Percy turned on him.

"Tell me the truth. Please, Leo. You don't have any family? Any memories that nag at your head? A girl?" Percy's voice was firm and formal-like, but he sounded like he really needed the information.

"No! No family, no girl, no nothing. What do you want from me!"

"Leo…I don't know how to say this. But I think…I _think _ that you had a past life…and someone in this camp knows you from then."

It was such a blunt reply, so unexpected, that Leo almost burst out again, _What do you want from me!, _without even listening. Instead he said, "Huh?"

"Do you have any memory of the 1940's? A girl named Hazel Levesque? Think hard."

And Leo thought.

**Sneak Peak of One of the Following Chapters: :D**

Hazel

Hazel woke up with a start. She was clammy and warm but there was a freezing cold touch on her hand. She looked toward it and saw the shadow of a little girl, with two pigtails.

"Julia?" she muttered softly.

The little girl sniffled and sat on Hazel's bed. Her face, that was always grinning mischievously, like a trickster, was overwhelmed with sadness, in a way Hazel hated to see.

"He's gone." She cried quietly, her words almost indecipherable under her sobs.

"Who's gone, Julia-" Hazel stopped abruptly. _No, that can't be. He's immorta-_

**Guess Who? :D_  
_**


	13. Chapter 13

13 Part I: Reyna

Reyna was sitting next to Annabeth, Thalia, Clarisse and Hylla. They were having their own little meeting, getting to know each other like Percy was doing with Jason, Leo, and Piper. Piper…the name put her on edge. _But no. I cannot let that distract me. _Yet Reyna still allowed herself to draw a faint smile from the thought that Piper was just a girly daughter of Venus. And yet…that was a problem, too. _She's probably like the rest, a jealous, pathetic girl, who will do everything in her power to wipe me out. _

Clarisse was getting to know Hylla and they were hitting it off, their tomboyish personalities as well as an aura that could put down any man made them almost twins. Thalia was talking to Reyna, but Reyna herself was a little lost in her thoughts. Thalia's face, though feminine, had a striking resemblance to Jason's. And that was stirring up her mind.

Sensing this, Thalia began to talk with Annabeth, who seemed just as distracted. Quite suddenly, in the middle of Thalia's sentence, she blurted out, "Hey, everyone quiet!"

Despite having no mesmerizing abilities like Piper's charmspeak, Annabeth's voice summoned absolute quiet, if not being able to douse the pout on Thalia's face. "Do you hear it- the rumbling?" she whispered.

All four of them nodded. There was, in fact, a slight gravelly shake on the floor of the Praetor's room. Then, slowly Annabeth's face changed. The surprise and concentration on her face dissipated, but in no good way. Instead, left behind was a blank expressionless plane, eerily calm.

The four girls exchanged distressed looks, and watched Annabeth closely. She did not move. She did not blink. She simply sat, looking absently at the marble corner of the fireplace. As it became clear that she wasn't moving, Reyna got up.

_Gaea_, she mouthed. _Quiet! Okay? _The others nodded. Reyna sat back down, crossed her legs, and watched Annabeth curiously. Thalia got a glass of water, placed near Annabeth, then stood by the door, for what reason, Reyna had no idea. Clarisse and Hylla tried to stay sitting but in the end, they formed a protective ring around Annabeth. Only Reyna sat unfazed, calm and waiting. Despite being a daughter of Bellona, years of keeping Camp Jupiter under control had made her more like a daughter of Minerva. She was quite thankful to Percy- subconsciously that is- for destroying that paradise prison of Circe's. Now she was a strong, strategic daughter of Bellona, as well as calm and commanding.

The silence was kept alive until an angry-looking Leo slammed through the door. "Annab-!" His half-shout was muffled under Thalia's quick hand. _That's why she took the door. Smart. _ Reyna thought. Thalia began to push him out the door, but turned back, looking with concern at Annabeth. Reyna stood up reluctantly, grabbed Leo's arm, and pushed him out instead.

"What's going on?" Leo asked, his anger momentarily wiped away.

"Annabeth is… having a conversation." Reyna ended tiredly.

"Intriguing conversation." Leo commented.

Reyna smiled. "Yes, well. What did you want, then?"

Leo's face darkened. "Never mind. You just-" he paused to reset his tight jaw, "-tell me when Annabeth's free."

He turned to go but looked back as Reyna said, "You know Leo, Praetors command armies. And armies with troubled soldiers don't do well. Annabeth's is going to have her own problems to solve. Why don't we have a talk? I'd like some fresh air anyway."

Reyna caught Leo trying to hide his surprise. To tell the truth, she was surprised herself. Sympathy was not her thing. But she'd learned that others tended to like support.

"Thanks, Reyna." Leo said shyly.

"That's Praetor, to you, soldier." Reyna said.

Leo smiled. _Why is he smiling? Do these Greeks call their leaders by name? Is there really such limited discipline? _

"So what is it?" Reyna asked, trying to get Leo to stop smiling.

He immediately did, and Reyna felt a little guilty. A little.

"How does Greek afterlife work?"

Reyna was intrigued by the suddenness of the question, but she replied, "Well, as far as I know, you go to the underworld and you either end up in the Eternal Punishment, the Fields of Asphodel, or Elysium. Eternal Punishment, you can guess what that's like. The Fields of Asphodel are like a limbo, people lose their memories, and become just machines. Elysium is the place for the heroic dead. You keep your memories and can be reborn. If you choose to be reborn three times, and achieve Elysium in each, you stay in the Isles of the Blest."

Part II: Leo

"Hmm." Leo murmured. Percy had told him: _ It's just a guess. And if you don't remember anything, you won't have much on you. If you do, well, best case scenario, you get Frank's girlfriend._

_Frank? _He'd asked.

It'd turned out that the baby-faced tough guy who'd spat at him was Frank. And his girlfriend had been spooked by Leo. No wonder he'd seemed disgusted at the sight of Leo. Leo didn't see how he'd get a girlfriend out of it, but he sure did know that despite the flabs of baby fat on Frank's face, his punch would hurt. He did _not _want to be on the receiving end of that.

"Who's Frank?" he blurted out, succumbing to another random question. He was glad Annabeth was having her _conversation,_whatever that was. He was confused with Percy, to say the least, and talking with his girlfriend was an idea he was glad he hadn't tried. She'd seemed strong and supportive on Camp Half-Blood, but she probably would have asked questions back as well.

Not Reyna, though. She answered all his questions, and kept her face calm and emotionless. "Frank's a son of Mars. He's pretty well-received around here. He took it as quite a shock when he was claimed by Mars. We all did, he never seemed like the aggressive warrior type. He's from the Fifth Cohort."

"Is he the moody type?"

"No. But he's quite protective. Doesn't have much. His mom died in war, and he lost his grandmother to old age, as far as I know. He's only got Mars, who, despite the saying opposites attract, doesn't seem like the guy for Frank. Other than that, he's pretty close with Percy and he has a little thing going on with Pluto's daughter, Hazel."

"Well that explains it." Leo said, thinking of his behavior from before. "So, how's his girlfriend like?" he asked.

His appreciation for Reyna was short-lived, as she raised her eyebrows like: Seriously?, and shook her head. "You're really random, Leo. And seeing as how I've so politely answered your questions, might I ask, what do you need that information for?"

Leo sighed. Well, not like he had anything to lose, anyway. "See, this Hazel, well she had a past life, in the 1940's, believe it or no-"

"I'm aware of that. She stopped a great giant named Alcyoneus in the 40's. So yes, I believe it." Reyna said, not liking how Leo was telling her the histories of her own campers.

"Right. So she used to know some guy, Sammy Valdez, and he looked exactly like me. And so Percy was trying to find out if I had any memory of this 'Sammy', if I was him in my past life or what."

Reyna considered what had just been said, and remained quiet for a long time. When she did speak, her eyes were softer, though still glaring; Reyna never stopped glaring. "I'm not going to ask you if you remember this 'Sammy' or not. I will ask you though, who else knows about this?"

"Just Percy I think."

Reyna pursed her lips, clearly annoyed. "Frank?"

"Not sure, probably just half way through. I mean, the way Percy said it, Sammy could have been more than a friend. I doubt she was willing to share that story with her boyfriend."

Reyna set her jaw in a tight way and crossed her arms. Leo burst out laughing.

"What!" she snapped.

"I come here, looking for advice, or at least some sympathy, and the only thing you catch is that your campers are beginning to trust Percy more that you!"

Reyna looked at Leo curiously. "It may not seem important; but these things will affect us in the old place. In Rome, and Athens, we cannot be in a state where one lost member means lack of trust. Percy's right one way though, we need more time."

Leo was still smiling, but his zeal was subdued. "You know, I'd have thought that we'd all be a little crazier at this point. When I was building Argo II, I didn't really think it'd workout. Either you'd chop us up into minced Greek soldier pie, or we'd just chicken out. You know, back off."

Reyna smiled superiorly at Leo and said, "An army reflects its leader's disposition."

"Then why aren't your Romans beauti-" Reyna and Leo both turned suddenly to a scream.

I'm sure this is going to spark up some emotion…please tell me what it is! Review! ↓↓↓↓


	14. Chapter 14

14 Annabeth

A blood-curdling scream escaped Annabeth's lips. Her head felt like a cauldron of boiling memories, dreams, and thoughts. The initial shock and pain subsided and she was left with a feeling of exhaustion.

Gaea had tried to probe her mind, seeking out every corner of her head, looking for the memories from the meeting in the bubble. Annabeth had done her best though and only one piece of the memory had escaped from the mental safe she had created: Poseidon's voice,

She was relieved; it was such an unimportant thing. She'd been concentrating on her half brothers, the most human thing she could think of, and had ended up remember a family trip to the beach. The sound of the waves had been just like Poseidon's voice. But she'd regained control, and stopped herself from remembering anything else. Gaea had gone empty-handed, maybe only knowing that Poseidon had contact with the Romans, that he was a possible ally.

Somebody splashed water on her face, and she opened her eyes, tried to keep her breathing normal for the sakes of whoever might be watching. No point in scaring anyone. In front of her were Thalia, Clarisse, Hylla, Reyna, and Leo. Jason and Piper promptly burst into the room.

"What's the trouble?" Jason asked.

Reyna ignored his question and turned on Annabeth, "Did she find anything?"

They all stared, holding their breaths. "No." Annabeth said, power returning to her. Her mind felt stronger, despite the trauma of having an evil, wicked, and sinister god turning up and messing with the balance of her sanity.

"I wonder why she picked you. Daughter of Athena, having more power over the mind than anyone else here. Why didn't she just choose an easy target?" Thalia voiced her concerns.

"Because I'm the planner. I'm the one who made the strategy, so I hold more information, more tactics, a clearer idea of the plans of us demigods."

The room darkened slightly as Percy's frame blocked light from entering the doorway. Annabeth watched him, brows drawn together, and arms shaking slightly. But that wasn't what caught her attention. He was soaking wet.

"What happened?" they both said at the same time. Percy scanned her from head to toe, and seeing that she was unharmed, relaxed his brows and stated, "Nothing. I was in the water, trying out some things, and I just lost my concentration when I heard you scream." He nodded toward everyone else in the room. "What's up?"

"Gaea's been testing Annabeth's willpower and concentration. But no important information has reached her through Annabeth's memories." Reyna announced.

Percy nodded and turned back to Annabeth, "You okay?"

"I feel more powerful actually. Really tired, but powerful, too. Did you feel like this after you woke up?" Annabeth inquired.

"Um, yeah, I guess. The fish and waters here act to my will now. I don't really have to spend any energy. But Stan- I mean, one of the fish, he told me that it'll only work here. If I want this kind of power in Greece, I might be knocked out again."

Annabeth nodded. "It's a risk, but good timing will make it a manageable action. I think we all have to do this, now."

"Do what?" Clarisse asked, her rough voice abrupt in the midst of the quiet situation.

"Test our limits." Percy answered. Everyone fell quiet; each wondering what drastic change of events would cause them to be pushed to their limits, to the point where they might blackout like Percy.

Sneak Peak of Chapter 19:

19 Hazel

Hazel woke up with a start. She was clammy and warm but there was a freezing cold touch on her hand. She looked toward it and saw the shadow of a little girl, with two pigtails.

"Julia?" she muttered softly.

The little girl sniffled and sat on Hazel's bed. Her face, that was always grinning mischievously, like a trickster, was overwhelmed with sadness, in a way Hazel hated to see.

"He's gone." She cried quietly, her words almost indecipherable under her sobs.

"Who's gone, Julia-" Hazel stopped abruptly. _No, that can't be. He's immor-_

_Review Please!  
_


	15. Chapter 15

15 Piper

After finding out that they were all inevitably going to be tested, Piper began to hate the Fates. She wondered what gruesome situation would find her trying to persuade someone to…what? Kill himself? Give them illegal weapons? Give them money? It turned out the situation was far closer to Piper than she'd thought, and luckily, much more innocent,

She had stayed in the room with Annabeth, Reyna, Thalia, Clarisse, and Hylla. She'd felt left out, and the famous Aphrodite jealousy had crept into her thoughts. Of course, Hazel wasn't here either, but that didn't show her the bright side.

"So, what were you guys up to? You know, before Gaea hijacked Annabeth's brain," she said jokingly.

"We were in the middle of planning a prank on Percy." Annabeth said with a mischievous smile.

"Really? Where is he now anyway?" Piper wondered.

"Back to the sea," Reyna answered.

Thalia laughed and said, "Man, Annabeth, if you hadn't been just under Gaea's power, I swear, I would have laughed as hard as anything when he came in, soaking wet! Did you see his face?" She began to occupy herself in conducting a hysterical laughing fit.

Clarisse joined in, "I would have paid some good money- er, drachmas- to see that again."

Annabeth's evil grin turned wider. "We shouldn't have to pay to see that again should we?"

Reyna shook her head, "It won't work. He'll be concentrating harder, now that he knows how badly something like a scream could distract him.

"Who needs distractions?" Annabeth asked rhetorically. "We've got Piper!" Up until now, Piper had been simply listening to their voices as they chatted, not really paying attention to content. Hearing her name caught her by surprise.

"What?" she asked.

"Percy says the water bends to his will now, not his power. When he heard me scream, he stopped thinking of staying dry, and wondered what was wrong. _That _messed up the currents. _That _got him wet. And if I know Percy, he'll take advantage of not having to do any work. So all we need to do is…" Annabeth trailed off, inviting guesses from the others.

Hylla, who'd been so quiet all this time, announced, "Persuade the currents. That's it isn't it?" She had a triumphant smile on, a child-like grin creeping onto her sophisticated features.

"Oh, no, no, no! " Piper refused. "I work with people, not inanimate objects!"

"They aren't inanimate objects, Piper. They respond to Percy. They read his mind. And this is more than just a prank, you know. This could be _your _test. Now tell me honestly, wouldn't you prefer this, than trying to get, let's say, oh, I don't know, _Ma Gasket_, to release you from the stinky depths of her armpit?" Annabeth encouraged.

Piper cringed at the thought then sighed dejectedly. This is what she got for being jealous. "Ugh, okay! But you owe me!" she threatened.

"YEAH!" Clarisse and Thalia shouted, high-fiving each other. "This is going to be fun," Annabeth said. "No one, not even my boyfriend, gets to win an argument with me."She smiled wickedly and laughed, and it seemed like just a few minutes ago, no evil goddess had been in their presence.


	16. Chapter 16

Hello! Just wanted to say, updates will not come very fast until this weekend, 12th May. Have patience, young grasshopper!

16 Jason

Jason was sitting on the beach, beside Percy, Leo, and Frank. The last two were talking with each other, amazingly; as soon as Frank realized the Leo did not remember Hazel in any way, they'd started talking and come to like each other. Jason doubted it would last though, as soon as Hazel woke up, this would be a rare sight.

It was weird to him, sitting next to Percy and his friends Frank and Leo. Percy didn't seem to find it weird though, he just fit right in, as if he'd known Jason and Leo all along. They were talking about how this was all becoming so dangerous.

"What'd you think when you heard her scream? Apparently, you don't get wet often?" Jason said with a smile,

Percy's forehead creased for a second then he said with a laugh, "I don't think I think very much."

"Well, we have that in common!" Jason agreed.

Suddenly Piper was there, walking into the water. "What are doing Piper?" Percy asked her, looking a little uncomfortable. Jason figured he was getting used to the how the Romans left his little sanctuary far behind them. _And then he's the only child of Poseidon, too. _Suddenly he was extremely grateful to have his sister around. She wasn't really like him. She was wild and spontaneous and spunky and he was quiet and calm. But there were little things that reminded her of himself, made him feel like he had another home besides Camp Jupiter.

"Just going for a swim. You know the waters are not yours, Percy" Piper answered with a dazzling smile, or at least dazzling to Jason. Leo leaned over behind Jason and said, "I wonder what they're all up to," jutting his chin toward the bunch of girls further down on the narrow shoreline. They were watching Piper closely.

Percy smiled, shook his head and said, "Not anything good, Leo, not anything good."

Leo snorted and settled back into the sand, and started snoring loudly soon after. _Not such a bad idea_, Jason thought, and he picked his elbows of the sand, laid them behind his head and closed his eyes.


	17. Chapter 17

17 Percy

Percy wasn't able to enjoy the summer sun for long. Just as he was finding the perfect position in the gritty sand, a shadow blinded him. It shifted, and then in the echo of a splash, he was soaking wet. He sat up, shocked.

Behind him, now, was Reyna, holding an empty bucket with a challenging grin on her face. "You're making yourself an easy target, Percy Jackson. Wake up!" Percy moaned with frustration and fell back into the sand. "A nudge would have worked just as well, you know!" he grumbled.

"Ah, but now what fun would that be?" she replied. _She's going to have to do better than that. I'll just command myself to be dry once I get in the water. _Percy thought. He pushed himself off the sand again and walked into the water. _Dry_, he thought, and the water slid off him in to the waves. He looked into the horizon and saw Annabeth in the distance. She saw him and made a waving motion, telling him to come.

He didn't like that everyone was going into the water now, it was dangerous. After that cetus had attacked…Annabeth wouldn't have missed something like that. Then she was taking a risk knowingly. _There aren't many things that could do that to Annabeth_, he thought. He waded into the waves and pushed himself forward.

Halfway to Annabeth, he paused. There was something else in the water. Not a monster, but a strong presence. He could almost hear its voice, soft and encouraging. Encouraging what, he didn't know, but he kept going.

Once he was in hearing distance of Annabeth, she shouted, "Percy, c'mon! Look at this!" He came to floating stop beside her and peered into the water. There was nothing remarkable in it, other than a pretty coral.

'No, dive! You _have_ to see this!" _What? _He thought but he dived down, completely distracted by curiosity. The water churned and it wasn't him that was doing it. He heard the lovely voice, and it was saying, soft and steady, like a calming lullaby, _All together now, all at once. _It was familiar, but frustratingly, he couldn't place it. It was coming from somewhere very close by.

He looked at Annabeth, and she was enthusiastically pointing to a spot underneath the coral, a hollow._ What's in there? _ Percy thought.

Then the currents swiftly stopped their random flow and pointed themselves at Percy, like metal to a magnet. After hearing a blast like the sonic boom he'd felt on Arion's back, water rushed into his ears, nose, mouth, even into the hollows of his eyes. He felt the currents lift him to the surface of the water. He had a wild hiccupping session and then he stopped to look up.

Ahead of him was everyone he'd seen on the beach before: Thalia, Reyna, Hylla, Clarisse (who by the way was teary eyed with the intensity of her suppressed laughter), Annabeth, and Piper. _Piper! _He thought. _That was her voi- oh. Oh! _ He shook his head and announced, "Right. You got me!" A loud chorus of laughs later, Thalia shouted, "Go Pipes!"

"I still cannot believe you pulled that off…I mean, just a few hours ago, they were calling me master." Percy said "So yeah, go Piper!"

"It was Annabeth's idea…" Piper added modestly. Everything _is her idea, _he thought.


	18. Chapter 18

18 Hazel

Hazel looked out one of the windows of her barrack. Laughter and sunshine were spilling into the room from outside. In the distance, she could see the blurry silhouettes of the campers on the beach. She sat back down on her bed and went back to thinking.

_Right. So I go out there, and I'll meet this Leo, and I'll be strong. Gaea's doing this to hurt me, but she's hurt me enough already, in both my lives. So I'll meet Sa- er, Leo. LEO! I meet him, and I explain it to him like I planned and then I'll get Frank and explain it to him, too. _She sighed, but it was with anticipation, not sadness. _The only reason I went crazy was because I was shocked. But I'm not anymore. I'm not. _She repeated over and over again.

Hazel went out the door, and felt the sun on her face, the cool breeze, and was reminded her of her time with Sammy. _But it's better to be happy that you have good memories than to be sad that you won't experience them again_, she reminded herself.

On the beachfront, she found Leo and Frank. Leo looked at her for a second, then seeing Frank's expression; he must have realized who she was. He stood up shakily, not meeting her eyes.

"Hi, um, Hazel," he said. A pang of hurt wracked her brain; even his voice was the same, and hearing him say her name, it was too much. But she pushed it away and put on an aloof expression as he continued. "My name is Leo… or at least, as far as I know."

"Right. So, I think I owe you guys an explanation. See I had-"

"That's okay, Hazel. You don't have to." Leo interrupted. Hazel looked at Frank, he nodded calmly and his expression showed no other possibility. Mentally, she collapsed in relief, and even had the humor to imagine a big party with little blow horns.

"Thanks guys…" she said, not knowing if she should show her relief or not. She decided to go for grateful and shook Leo's hand. Then she realized she didn't have an escape route. _Where should I go! It will look weird if I just go back to the barracks, and if I go anywhere else, I'll end up back there anyway. _

She was saved by Reyna, who put her hand on her shoulder and pulled her away, talking about the events she'd missed in her post-traumatic state after her sighting of Leo. Of course, she didn't mention the last bit, but it hung in the silence, nevertheless.

When they were out of earshot, she stopped her monotonous chatter and asked quietly, "Is everything okay?" Hazel was confused as Reyna wasn't the type to be concerned of her soldiers on matters that didn't include physical injury. She'd changed all right; Hazel had seen her out with Hylla and the others, pranking Percy, or just plain out walking on the beach, no heavy burden lining her eyes in shadows.

"Yes, Reyna. Thanks." Hazel said.

"Right. Go find something to do, then. An idle Roman is a useless one!" She commanded, pausing to add a slight pat on Hazel's shoulder. _So maybe she hasn't changed quite that much._ Hazel thought.

Hazel looked behind her. On the beach, Frank and Leo sat together. Hazel frowned, and then forced herself to wipe it away. They were the two people she cared most for in the world, and they were becoming friends. This was good. Hazel allowed herself to at least think of Leo as Sammy from a distance. Further down were Percy and Jason, heads bent in some serious conversation. Reyna was walking toward them, and she had strong stride that showed no fear or anxiety.

For a second Hazel wished she were Reyna, then thought of how bad she had things. She looked back to Frank and Leo, and found a silhouette of a chubby face looking in her direction. She waved to Frank and then went back inside.


	19. Chapter 19

19 Hazel

Hazel woke up with a start. She was clammy and warm but there was a freezing cold touch on her hand. She looked toward it and saw the shadow of a little girl, with two pigtails.

"Julia?" she muttered softly.

The little girl sniffled and sat on Hazel's bed. Her face, that was always grinning mischievously, like a trickster, was overwhelmed with sadness, in a way Hazel hated to see.

"He's gone." She cried quietly, her words almost indecipherable under her sobs.

"Who's gone, Julia-" Hazel stopped abruptly. _No, that can't be. He's immortal._

But Julia answered her thoughts. "No, he is! I knew you wouldn't believe me! But I saw him, Hazel! The statue crumbled and then the ground swallowed him-" her words trailed in to sobs again. _The Pomerian Line is undefended. This can't be good. And Terminus… could be it possible?_

Hazel didn't know what more to do than go tell Reyna and the others. She woke Annabeth, who followed her wordlessly, and Piper who was a little grumpier. She got Percy, Frank, and Leo, all three of which didn't seem very happy about losing their beauty sleep. She found her way past the Mess Hall, and to the Praetor's offices. She knocked on the both doors and two people came out: a sleepy-eyed Jason and Reyna, who looked so alert that she could have been awake all night. _Maybe she was. _

"What's wrong?" Jason asked. Reyna's eyes fell on Julia, who had been holding onto Hazel's clothes the whole time. They all seemed to know what the problem was, but they had no idea how bad it was.

As Hazel was about to reply, Julia burst out crying, falling to the floor and rubbing her eyes. The four guys immediately dropped to the ground. Percy fell to talking with her about irrelevant things, her two front teeth which had almost completely come out, if she still wanted to be like him when she grew up. Jason patted her back and twirled her hair into a sweet, but messy braid. Leo made funny faces that even got Reyna to crack a smile. And Frank shivered and turned into a hummingbird so he could tickle Julia's ears.

She stopped crying soon enough, distracted by all the attention.

"I'm going to miss him," the girl said quietly.

"We all are Julia. And we'll make sure he comes back, okay? But right now, you need to sleep, all right?" Reyna told her soothingly. Julia nodded.

She left and shouted a 'hey!' and returned with a faun by her side. The faun took Julia's hand and walked out, eyes lit with the thought of gossip to share.

"This is bad. We have to find out a way to bring him back. Do you know anything about this Hazel?" Percy asked.

Hazel shook her head and answered, "Only that Thanatos being alive won't do us much. Gaea still has the Door of Death, so she can control who comes back from being dead and who doesn't. We have to _leave. Right now._"

Jason and Reyna nodded. Piper exchanged a look with them and went and stood by them.

"We're going to get the Romans in the New Rome calm enough to board the ship. We trust they'll be welcome in Camp Half-Blood?"

"It'll be a tight fit, but Chiron will allow it." Annabeth answered.

"Good. If there's any way for you to get the campers to Half-Blood as well, please, go ahead." Annabeth nodded. Reyna turned to Leo and said, "We won't all fit on the ship, I suppose?" Leo shook his head. "We'll need another way for the campers." He replied.

"I'll be back," Reyna said and left with Jason and Piper beside her. Everyone looked at Annabeth.

"Boy, have we got a problem to solve." She said, grim-faced.

Lets get this part rolling! :D And, um, yeah, don't ask why they didn't just take a bus... :D


	20. Chapter 20

20 Frank

Annabeth and Percy were discussing possibilities on transport. Hazel, Leo and Frank were sitting beside them; a confused expression on their faces, one identical to the one Percy was wearing.

Seeing that no one was following her words, Annabeth restarted. "Let's start with the something else. Leo, can you make another one of those holographic scrolls?"

"You made that?" Percy asked, clearly impressed. "Son of Hephaestus, sure, but that's just plain awesome."

Leo smiled and said, "Sure, yeah. Just give me a few minutes. Frank tried to follow the boy's hands as they moved, placing and grabbing things from his tool belt, which somehow, was big enough to hold a hammer. More amazing though was the fact that Leo _needed_ a 3 pound hammer to make a recording scroll. Frank decided he knew what he was doing, and let it drop without comment.

A few minutes later, they had a recording scroll, and still no more ideas.

"Okay, one, two, three, action!" The scroll beeped like a smart phone and Leo pointed it toward Annabeth. On the opposite side, Annabeth's face appeared. "Message to Chiron from the Romans." She started. "The camp's border protection has been compromised. The Romans have a city where their demigods may live a normal life after their service to camp has been done. They need a safe place, prepare to host them. Their praetor, Reyna, has decided it's time to leave for Italy and Greece. We'll escort the ship with the Roman people to Camp Half-Blood, and then leave with Reyna's troops shortly after." Annabeth took her eyes off the scroll and nodded toward Leo. He folded it up and gave it to her.

"How do we get it to camp before we do?" Leo wondered.

Annabeth shook her head, but Percy answered, "I know someone who'd be up for the job. Is this waterproof?" He asked Leo. When he nodded in answer, Percy took it from Annabeth's hands.

Annabeth's eyes lit up suddenly. She looked at Frank, "How many things can you change to exactly? And is it stable? Will you suddenly lose shape?"

"I can change into anything I'm familiar with. It helps if I've seen the creature face to face. Will I lose shape? I guess that depends, again, on how well I know the animal."

Annabeth did a wide grin, and asked, "How do you feel about turning into a whale?"

Frank almost choked when he heard her. "What!"

"Well, seeing as there arw no better ideas, why don't you go with Percy, and meet a whale? I bet you reckless Romans would love to do something so spontaneous," she challenged.

"And, if, even after meeting the whale, I tire and change back?" Frank asked, desperately looking for any way out.

"Then Percy commands to currents to keep us afloat, and if possible, dry." Annabeth replied evenly.

"And if we both get tired?"

"We park on a coast for a while. But don't worry, I have a schedule thought up, you won't both be tired at the same time."

"Um, Annabeth, this is really out there, even for you." Percy told her, seeing Frank's expression.

"Yeah, I have no intention of coming face to face with the world's largest animal, with Poseidon's son by me, or not." Frank said, looking apologetically at Percy.

"Do you have anything better, guys?" Annabeth challenged again.

For a second Frank wished he was a son of Hermes. He could have stolen the scroll right out of Percy's hands and blackmailed Annabeth to get him out of the plan. Or, maybe he could have used his power over language to win a debate against her. Seeing that these weren't options, he went for the second best thing. He turned into eagle, and jacked himself up over the four.

"Frank!" Hazel laughed, looking up at him and smiling. Frank smiled- er, that is, opened his beak awkwardly- and swooped down. He caught the fabric of her Camp Jupiter T-shirt between his claws and settled down on her shoulder.

Hazel laughed again, and told Annabeth, "Well, you can't have an argument with only one person!"

Frank cawed happily, a sound annoyingly familiar to laughter. Annabeth shook her head. But Percy was grinning, as he came up to Frank. He held out his arm and said, "C'mon boy!" Frank hopped on.


	21. Chapter 21

21 Stanley the Yellow Coral Fish :D

Stanley was waving his little tail leisurely, gliding around some interesting rocks, when a loud splash grabbed his attention. He felt a wonderful feeling go through him, like a wave. _That must be master. _He thought.

_Stop calling me that!_ A voice answered. Stanley jumped- er, flailed in the water- at the voice. _So you're advancing in your abilities quite quickly now. A master, indeed._

_Yes. No! Stop calling me that, I command, you as master! _

_What's your name? _ A new voice inquired. Stanley looked up, and there was another boy floating in the water near Percy. His words were said with a thick accent, and Stanley guessed that Percy was still just teaching him the basics of fish-speak.

_My name is Stanley. But I prefer Stan. _ The fish answered. Percy smirked, and said, _Frank and Stan. Sounds a lot like Frankenstein. _

_Hmmpf! Anyway, I see what it is that you want. You can find a whale if you travel a little ways down there,_ Stanley replied, pointing with his fin towards a deep blue trench in the distance. _And I'm no good for long distance travel, so hand that scroll over there to a swordfish. There's a decent one appropriately named Speedy in that trench. Happy whale-hunting!_

The second boy, Frank, looked like he was close to vomiting. _ Hey no pollutants in the water please, even if it is biodegradable! None of us here want to swim in your puke! _A few other fish revealed themselves from hiding and nodded as well as they could, having no necks and all.

The boy straightened slightly, but it still didn't look like he was going to make it more than a few minutes. _Ah, well. In a few minutes he'll be out of here, if Percy's learned to control the currents as he says. _ Stanley thought, thinking of how Percy had returned and told him about Leo.

Percy smiled, put an arm over Frank's shoulder, through his demigod-generated breathing bubble, and out the other side. _C'mon. It'll be fine. Believe me. You're Poseidon related, that whale's gonna love you!_

Frank didn't look convinced but allowed Percy to drag him away.


	22. Chapter 22

22

Part I: Reyna

Reyna was glad and that Piper was there, and also quiet annoyed. Under her orders, Piper had used her charmspeak to calm to people of New Rome and get them aboard the Argo II. Nobody had mentioned Terminus, as Piper had them convinced that this was a routine procedure, saying, "We have a drill every month, remember?"

Some people had tried to resist her voice as they'd heard rumors of her powers, but failed. After convincing the currents to go against their creator's son, persuading a few random descendants of demigods was a piece of cake.

They'd managed to get almost half the people into the bottom floors of Argo the II in very short amount of time. They were now moving to the eastern neighborhoods of the city. Despite the help Piper had given, Reyna couldn't help but be bothered with how Jason kept slightly closer to Piper than herself. An uneasy quiet fell on them.

The silence was broken by the other girl. "I didn't know you knew how to braid. When did you learn that?" She said, recalling how Jason had tried to calm Julia.

Jason blushed, and all his macho dissipated in that one question. _Where _did_ he learn that? _Reyna thought. And then she remembered. She'd had a particularly tough fight with a monster, and hurt her left arm. Jason had still been pretty new at being praetor, and had walked into the offices, to find Reyna, trying to do her hair with one arm. _Need some help? _He'd asked her. She'd refused his offer and struggled on, determined to not let a broken arm disrupt her routine. But he took her hair anyway, and Reyna had given in, walked him through the steps. _Left to center, right to center, left to center, and right to center. _

"Uh…a long time ago-" Jason started. Reyna looked at him. _ Was he really going to be honest? The stupid idiot. Coming here with a girl, and then telling her about his time with me. Does he want to get rid of us both! The moron. _

"Yes, a long time ago. When new campers arrive, they are supposed to take lessons, and one of them is knot-making. Braiding is part of the course." Reyna interrupted , fabricating the last part. It all sounded quite stupid and see-through to her. _Braiding. Imagine that! Anyone could easily pull down a braid. _

Piper didn't notice though. She just seemed uncomfortable, probably because Reyna had interrupted Jason like she was mad at them both. _What a vain daughter of Aphrodite. _ She thought bitterly. _What more does she have than her charmspeak? _

A little voice in her told her that thinking of the goddess of love with scorn would not earn her anything, but Reyna was convinced that Jason was beyond her reach, with or without Aphrodite's help. And that was how it would be. _I've really changed haven't I? _She thought. _First, I manage to envelope the instincts of anger and violence given to me by Bellona under my role as Praetor. Now I'm moaning over love just like one of Venus's victims._ Reyna shook her head to clear out the thought.

Within the next half hour, the rest of the citizens of New Rome were in the Argo II. Reyna stopped to admire its beauty for a second; thinking of how Leo had said that he'd never thought it would set sail to Rome. And she thought of what he'd said after, before they'd gone in to see if Annabeth was okay…

Again, she reprimanded herself, forcing thoughts of worry to bloom instead. Gaea had them in the palm of her hand. She knew that they wouldn't leave their people undefended. Even if all the campers had taken guard over New Rome, it was a risk Reyna would not have allowed. She had the Romans and Greeks acting just as she wanted, just when she wanted it. There was nothing to it though. Nothing but to do as she wanted, until she caught a break. But when would it come…?

The ground rumbled faintly, almost unnoticeably. Almost. A slight hiss was rising in her mind. _Gaea, there is no point. I have not caught a break, and so I don't know what I would do with it. Leave. _ The hissing turned louder and louder until there was no space for thought, only pain, then disappeared suddenly. She realized she'd closed her eyes. She opened them, and found that she was tilted forward, and someone was holding her steady. She found her footing, and sequentially found Leo's face.

"Are you okay, _Praetor_?" he asked, emphasizing the last word.

Reyna nodded, pulled herself away from his grip and walked. Leo walked on beside her. "We're ready. Annabeth was a plan. A crazy one, at that. Frank's going to turn into a whale, and carry your passengers. Percy will be ready to keep them afloat if he changes back suddenly. I've made a few boats as well."

Reyna pursed her lips and said, "Whales, eh? I suppose that will work. Who else does Annabeth need?"

"She'd like Piper. She's sending Hazel and me to take her place." He paused for a second, as if hearing the sentence out loud had just made it clear what it meant for him. "Well that's going to be interesting."

"Send Hazel back." Reyna told him. "She'll want to be near Frank. Might as well let everyone enjoy their time when they can."

Leo looked at her as if he'd just hit a jackpot. "So you think we're going to fail, huh? The giants are going to eat us alongside their eggs and bacon?"

"No. We'll win. History repeats itself. This war was won by the gods before; it'll be won by them again. But who'll live to see it happen, that's another story, my friend."

"My friend, now, is it? See ya, Praetor! Got messages to send."

Part II: Percy

An arrangement had been made. Jason was going to steer the Argo II- and Percy regretted not being able to steer it on sea himself-, and Reyna and Leo would go with him. Piper, Frank, Hazel, Annabeth and he were to get the campers.

Annabeth had decided that all the campers wouldn't fit on Frank- even in whale form- at the same time. So she'd dumped the schedule, and made another plan. Percy and Piper had gone to sea and convinced some other bored whales to go with Frank. Percy was to carry anyone left over in Leo's boats. Annabeth would coordinate the whales from Frank's tail.

The whales hadn't been to keen on keeping to the surface for such a long trip, but in the end they'd been convinced. Whales were scary enough, swimming on their backs while underwater was just plain crazy.

The Roman campers who had bravely volunteered for whale-back riding were promised a basket of strawberries each. The others were happy enough, being able to keep on the solid planks of a boat. Percy's boat carried seven people, mostly Roman campers he'd never seen before. The other seven boats, primarily filled with centurions who'd used their power to get a boat ride, had no captains, but Percy had it under control. Piper was on a dinghy some meters away from him, murmuring to the thanks currents who had happily obliged to her request.

Then the Argo II creaked out of its makeshift port and soared off into the air. There was no applause, but the fact that the Romans were willing to leave their beloved camp behind without barely a whine was admirable to Percy.

He gave a silent _Go! _to the currents, the whales, and Frank, and the campers set off, Around an hour into the trip, he looked to the other campers. They were all staring at him from the first place, but he hadn't noticed, his thoughts scanning the ocean floor.

"Hey, guys. Sorry, I was a little distracted. What's up? And um, who are you?" He added with a grin.

There were five boys and two girls, each looking quite bored. One of the girls, with dark hair, slightly tan skin, and green eyes introduced herself as Andrea Denning. The other boys announced themselves as Jake, Don, Ian, Dylan, and Henry. He looked toward the last person on board. And he stopped, his mouth open. "Good gods," he whispered, and then he jumped straight off the ship.


	23. Chapter 23

**Thank you for the awesome feedback, I'm smiling from ear to ear thanks to you guys! Hope you enjoy this chapter...if you're a Star Wars fan you'll be quicker to realize who exactly the seventh girl on board is...Review!**

23 Percy

Percy remained underwater for a long time, letting the water churn around him in a panicked fashion, reflecting his mood.

_How in the world will I tell her? And Annabeth… _Percy thought, looking again at the dinghies above him. The girl, whatever her name was, had only peered at him once, but the others, Jake and Don, still sneaked in glances.

With a sigh- which caused him a minor choking fit- he surfaced. The boats wobbled and steadied as he did. He pushed himself back on board. Everyone's eyes were on him, even those who weren't on his dinghy. He looked toward the girl again. He knew he hadn't made a mistake, that it wasn't a coincidence. It couldn't have been.

She had sandy blonde hair, a slight tan, long legs and a thin build. But that wasn't what held him paralyzed, it was the eyes, those clear blue eyes that reminded him so much of someone…

He cleared his throat, looked at the floor, an apology on his face and muttered, "Sorry about that. I…eh…thought you were someone else. What's your name?"

"Leia Ca-" the girl began.

"Like Star Wars?" Percy interrupted, not out of rudeness, but reason. He wanted to leave some hope of his suspicions being wrong. But the facts were building up: her hair, those eyes, and that name…

Percy smiled, thinking of her name, and Leia smiled back. "Yes, like Star Wars, I guess."

"Who's your father?" he asked, praying with all his heart that it wasn't-

"Mercury." She paused. "How did you know that my dad was the god?" At Percy's silence, she continued. "And who did I remind you of?"

Percy ran a rough hand over his face. "What's your last name Leia?" he said, trying for a casual voice that turned out sounding fearful.

She frowned at his ignoring her question, but gave in after a long pause.

"Castellan." She said loudly. "Why?"


	24. Chapter 24

**For those of you waiting for some action, hold your breaths...well don't, it'll still be a few chapters away... Sorry for this lovey-dovey chapter, but it will be important to the plot... the next FEW chapters set on Camp Half-Blood will also be important, and I have to have them there, despite the lack of monster-butt-kicking. Sorry! Because of that, I'll be adding two chapters at a time for a 2 or 3 days, so you guys don't get too bored, and also to make up for the really short chapters I've been submitting. Please give me some feedback and review!**

24 Annabeth

After long, tedious hours, they reached their old home. Camp Half-Blood. _So beautiful…_

"Look at this dump!" one of the Romans muttered, ruining the moment. Annabeth turned on him, and saw Octavian.

"We are hosting your people out of courtesy, not fear. Have some respect. Or would you rather we left you here to clean up after pegasi manure?"

Octavian snorted, but fear was clearly on his face. Obviously he hadn't received any valuable military skills from his grandfather, Apollo.

"Right then." Annabeth stated and turned, walking straight into Percy and a girl, whose face was covered in Percy's blue baseball cap. She felt a heartbeat's worth of envy, and then realized that she was trying to hide her face. _Something is up…_

"Annabeth, c'mon. We need to talk." Percy said, his voice laden with sadness and anger.

He led them to his cabin, and sat down, knees braced under his palms. "I uh…there's something you should know Leia…" he trailed off. He breathed with finality and said with a strong voice, "Leia, I think we knew your brother."

The girls voice was strained with confusion as she said, "I don't… have a brother…"

"Yes, you do." Percy grimaced. "You did. His name was Luke. He died a hero's death, and saved us all."

There was a moment's complete silence, and then Annabeth whispered, "What are you doing, Perseus?" Her voice had no kindness, only an icy coldness, which stung Percy. It reminded him of how she'd been on the Siren's Island, all her memories blocked by one thought. The same thought that occupied her now. Luke.

Leia lifted her head to look at Percy's eyes with bewilderment. His cap fell lightly to the ground. Her sandy blonde hair tumbled out and the shadow was removed from her blue eyes. And then Annabeth knew it was the truth.

Percy looked at her, and then turned to Leia. "Are you okay? Do you want me to call Andrea?"

Leia shook her head, her eyes slightly glazed over. "My mother always mentioned a Luke. Mercury told me it was her nephew." She paused. "Just- just tell me. Did he die happily?" she asked, her voice cracking towards the end.

"He had his most valuable friend beside him." Percy told her, not mentioning what Luke had asked Annabeth at that time.

Leia looked at Annabeth pointedly, who was still glaring at Percy. Percy nodded minutely. Leia got up and walked out, looking shaken, but not as much as Annabeth. Annabeth's hands were rolled in fists and her body was as stiff as wood.

Percy stepped toward her, water from the fountain rising behind him like a giant cape, and enveloped her in his arms. He directed the water to pull at her wrists, and they landed on his shoulder, where they unraveled and gripped at his shirt.

"I miss him, Percy. So much." She whispered.

Percy ignored his own emotions and gripped her back, tightly.


	25. Chapter 25

**As I'm too lazy to rewrite this whole chapter, I'm going to add two chapters in one day if my original is too short. (See, I like to change POVs a LOT! :) ) hope that works with you! enjoy!**

25 Reyna

The Greek camp was small, tiny even, in comparison to the Roman one. But it sure was something. Each cabin was beautifully decorated to match the home of the god it stood for, unlike the plain stone outside of the Cohort barracks. The strawberry fields added a homely feeling to what in New Rome would have been a stiff and formal atmosphere.

Reyna walked to Chiron, or who she thought was Chiron. He was a tall centaur, with a chestnut brown lower body and matching facial hair. He was quite intimidating, and the Romans stayed clear, but it did not deter their leader.

"Hello, Chiron. Thank you for hosting us. The protection of my people is my key concern, and you are offering us great hospitality. We are for a long time to come, in your debt."

Chiron scanned Reyna quickly, and his kind eyes showed genuine surprise. "Now, I knew Romans were formal. But you're just a kid!"

Reyna smiled and replied, "Praetor is my preferred title. But, yes, we are just kids."

Chiron smiled once more before it withered in the shadows of his furrowed brows. "Gaea has driven you here. She has us all in the palm of her hand. She could crush any one of us at any given time. She can read our thoughts as well. I hope to the Gods that you know what you are doing. You and the other seven practically decide our fates."

Reyna's face molded into a similar expression and spoke, "The fates decide our fates. This is in the hands of Fortuna, solely."

Chiron shook his head, "Ah, see, that's where you are wrong. Fate will not be forever in your hands, but you may hold it for a while yet. Mold it well when it does come. Such opportunities will be rare, Reyna, beware. But they shall come." With that, he left, but only after an approving glance in her direction

Reyna looked around her. All her Roman campers had fled to their assigned cabins, probably hoping to wreck havoc. Only the Greeks remained, scowling at any stray citizen of New Rome. Clarisse was beside her then and she gave Reyna a thorough pounding on her back.

"Nice job, Praetor. Got us here in one piece. Athena's cabin and your Minerva's kids have made up a system. Something about housing arrangements for this one night. Then we're off." Clarisse stopped to yell at the ground: YOU HEAR THAT SWAMP LADY? I'M COMING FOR YOU!

Reyna smiled, and headed off towards the Athena's cabin, a stone gray building with an elaborately carved owl perched on the pediment. She was offered a choice of Zeus's cabin or Aphrodite's cabin. _You can't be serious. _She thought. Octavian walked up to her, and said menacingly, "What is it Praetor? Don't like to be out of your little haven in New Rome?"

"No, of course not." Reyna replied, deadly calm, cutting back the insulting product of Octavian's tone. "Where is your cabin Octavian?"

Octavian scowled and replied, "Demeter. What use am I in there?"

Reyna nodded, a false look of sympathy on her face. "Yes, indeed. No use at all. How about cabin thirteen?"

Octavian nodded eagerly, "Yes! Anything but that Demeter's cabin. All so full of plants! Ugh. Thank you very much Reyna!"

Reyna let her expression drop and smiled menacingly, "Any time. I'm sure you'll enjoy Hades's cabin."

Octavian's face paled and lost color like a shutter was being closed underneath his skin. "H-Hades?" And then he fainted right on the spot, falling not-so-lightly on to the ground, a Ty Inc. teddy bear falling from his pack.

Reyna smiled contentedly and told the demigod in charge of housing, "Well, he's seems to be fine with that. I'll take his place at cabin four."


	26. Chapter 26

26 Percy

After he'd gotten Annabeth back to her cabin, Percy went down to the Lake. A certain satyr was there, flirting with a dryad near shore. _Juniper of course._ Percy thought.

"Did you miss me G-man?" he called out.

Grover jumped a few meters into the air and then turned around. "Percy!" He bleated excitedly. "How's it been?"

Percy smiled and said back, "I've been great. But I need a favor right now. Will you make sure Annabeth doesn't do anything crazy till I come back? I'm going to the city to see my mother."

Grover frowned, "Since when does Annabeth do crazy things?"

"Since she found out that she has to face Luke's sister. Her name's Leia. Daughter of Mercury and May Castellan."

Grover's frown deepened and he assured Percy that he'd look after Annabeth. With that under control, Percy left Half-Blood Hill. On Blackjack of course. _Taxis are too old fashioned._

Percy got to Manhattan and walked his way back to his home, leaving a grumpy Blackjack behind on the street.

He rang the bell, and he heard his mother's familiar footfalls rush to open the door. As it opened, he only got once glance at her before he was smothered in her hair. "Good gods, Percy! You had me so worried! You will not do that to me again, is that understood?"

"I left a message!" Percy defended himself weakly.

"A message! Silly boy, you don't know how it's like to be a parent. It was bad enough having you leave for camp. Then you got kidnapped by that witch Hera, and now you're leaving to fight Gaea. That cannot happen."

Percy stepped back and told her, "You know it can't be that simple, mom. Plus, I'll have a god by my side."

"Poseidon?" she asked, tensing slightly Paul came running to the door. His face showed genuine relief, and Percy was glad he'd been there with his mom. Knowing her, she would have gone wild, as any mother would have. He turned back to

"N-" A strange hissing filled the crevices of his mind and almost brought him to his knees. _Tell me boy. Your girl and the praetor might be able to resist my powers, but you cannot. Tell me, bo-_

Percy blocked out her voice and opened up memories of past things, happy things. Meeting his father for the first time, how he'd hugged Percy on Mount Olympus. Annabeth's expression when he'd turned down immortality, the way he'd held her after the Siren's Island. The way the water made him feel, the faces of the spirits flickering in the beaches of his childhood. The trips he and his mother used to take.

For a few moments, the hissing subsided. Then it came back in a droning hum, which popped his ears so hard that he fell to the ground. His head hit the tiles and the impact made him lose his concentration, just for a second, before he went unconscious.

**Review! Feedback, suggestions, requests, criticism...and of course complements welcome! ;D**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27... thanks guys, I never thought I'd still be writing at this point. But I have big plans for the crew, now! I doubt you'll still be reading this intro, seeing some of the review and PMs I've gotten :), but either way: you should check out the band One Republic, especially the album Dreaming Out Loud. Its awesome writing music! :) if you have anything better, please tell me, as music is one of my best inspirational devices and this could be the difference between a long, exciting chapter and a short boring one. THANK YOU! :D Enjoy! ↓↓↓↓**

27 Annabeth

Grover rushed to Annabeth just fifteen minutes after Percy's leave. "Annabeth, we have to get Percy. My empathy link-" he stopped to catch his breath, "-its buzzing out."

Annabeth, who was staring quite absently into the distance, snapped her head to Grover's. "What! What happened?" Then, without offering a chance for him to explain, she grabbed his arm and ran out to the stables. Grabbing hold of a nervous Pegasus, she pushed forward, throwing herself gracefully over its back with one step on the saddle stirrup.

In a matter of minutes, they were at Sally Jackson's apartment door, ringing the bell furiously. Paul opened it, genuine concern on his face. When he saw the two he sighed, "Oh good. You're Annabeth and Grover, aren't you?"

Grover tried to answer politely but was pushed aside by a teary-eyed Annabeth. Sally Jackson was kneeling by the couch, dabbing a cotton cloth at Percy's face. His ears and nose bled heavily.

"What in the world happened?" Annabeth half-screamed, half-sobbed.

Sally Jackson jumped, but hugged Annabeth tightly on seeing her. "He- he…just grabbed his head, and collapsed. It's Gaea isn't it Annabeth?" she asked bitterly, trying again to soak up the blood on Percy's face. "Tell me he'll be alright Annabeth. Please."

Annabeth closed her eyes and imagined Poseidon. _Here's your beloved son, bleeding under the hands of the Gaea, and you simply remain to watch? Help him! Please! For your own sake at least, help him!_

The sound of the sea rushed through Annabeth's mind and her thoughts calmed. But instead of hearing Poseidon's voice, she heard Athena's. _Has it come to the point where my own daughter calls for help from Poseidon, and not me? Where she is calmed by waves, and not the thought of the sacred owl? The point where she even _has _scrambled thoughts?_

Annabeth suppressed her growing anger and thought, _My- my lady. Please, save the boy. He is crucial to our victory. Nike alone cannot guarantee such a feat. _

In her head, Athena sighed and replied_, I have done enough for him already. His stupidity almost endangered the whole mission._

Annabeth panicked, her anger threatening to spill over into her words. But she contained it, remembering that this what Athena wanted. Emotion. A good lawyer always keeps a poker face.  
_Mother, for my sake, then, save the boy. I will never be able to fight if there are two burdens on my shoulders…  
_Athena's voice was gone. Annabeth wondered if she had imagined it all, as she often did. Being born from Athena's mind meant that your thoughts often sounded like the goddess herself. It was too vivid though, for that to be true. And the humming had died out from the moment Athena had spoke. It stayed away now as well.

_You must know by now, Annabeth, that people will perish. There is no blessing on any of you, including this boy, which keeps you from danger.  
_I know my lady. Annabeth thought quietly, regretting saying "Mother". Obviously that was the cause for such a cruel comment. The Goddess of Wisdom was kind, but did not allow much room for emotion in serious times.

_But then you know that one must be made, because I will not remain alive by will without the two. I lost Luke. But if Percy dies as well, then there is nothing anchoring me here._ Annabeth threatened evenly.

_You play quite a game, daughter. But you are quite important to me. _Athena's voice was kinder now, sympathetic_. I know you have lost many of those that you love, and I will not prolong your suffering. My blessing is given to Perseus Jackson, Son of Poseidon. _

Blood continued to flow from Percy's ears and nose, and it even formed a small pool in his mouth, but his labored breathing was soothed. A spotted eagle-owl landed on the open window of the apartment.

Percy sat up, groaned, and coughed roughly, spitting blood onto his orange Camp Half-Blood shirt. His mother caught him on his arm, gently easing his body back down to the sofa and-

"Ahhh!" Percy screamed. He jerked back his arm and hunched his shoulders in a protective position as he cradled his elbow in the other palm.

"What's wrong Percy?"Annabeth demanded reaching out gingerly to hold his arm.  
The owl made a distinct whistle, and then its bright yellow eyes glowed eerily, wafts of golden-olive light moving like ribbons to wrap around Percy's arm. They brushed Annabeth's hand, and it tickled her. Percy on the other hand, gritted his teeth in pain, his breathing tuning choppy again. The ribbon began to wrap from his wrist all the way down to his elbow, dropping its golden glow as it stuck to his bloody skin. Annabeth sat back and sighed.


	28. Chapter 28

**Sorry for the short chapter, but I'll throw a few hints (in bold) into the next chapter to make up for it. I just thought I'd put a more specific disclaimer than the one I have in my description: _All the settings, past event references, and characters (except Leia Castellan and Stanley the Coral Fish) are property of Rick Riordan. This is purely a fan writing until the third book of the wonderful series comes out. Only the plot and dialogue belong to me, and even that is inspired my Rick Riordan._ ****Enjoy:**

28 Piper

It was good to be back home, even if it was only for a little while. Piper saw Mitchell and Drew and greeted them with hugs before going to the edge of Half-Blood Hill. She felt the warmth of the breeze snaking through her hair and crossed her ankles. _Home, sweet home. _She thought, but it was a bitter one, filled with the reminder of battles to come.

Her daydreams were interrupted by Leo's voice, "Hey Pipes. What's up? Where's your lover boy?"

Piper scowled and punched Leo on the shoulder. "Hey!" Leo protested. Piper glared him down. "Right okay, okay! Enough with the rainbow eyes, Barbie."

"Huh?" Piper asked and then groaned. "Seriously, why am I Aphrodite's child? I'm not girly at all! I don't even own a skirt."

Leo furrowed his brows in what _seemed_ like genuine sympathy. "Well, you're vain, dim-witted, and temperamental. So, really, no big surprise. Actually, I always th-"

He was stopped by Piper saying, "Shut up, Leo." The boy quieted immediately.

He scowled, almost a copied image of Piper's previous expression and told her, "I hate you."

Piper smiled mischievously and told him, "Actually, you think I'm just awesome."

"Actually, I think you're just aweso-" Leo stopped. "Ugh. There's no winning with you, now. Unless of course lover bo-"

Piper punched him again. "You know Leo, there's an innumerable amount of embarrassing things I can _ask _you to do…"

"Right. So what's up. Where is Jason, really?" he asked her.

"Don't know. Haven't seen him since we left new Rome, remember? Weren't you with him the whole time?"

"Uh, no. I was below deck, fixing up things. Reyna was up there though, maybe she could-" Leo stopped. Smiling, he tugged at his collar twice and said, "Oops!"

Piper couldn't help but laugh at the last part but images flashed through her mind. All the memories the Mist had given her of Jason, but now, instead of Piper's arms around his ample shoulders, it was Reyna's. Instead of her chocolaty hair falling over Jason's lap, it was Reyna's glossy black locks. She shook the images out of her head and again regretted being a daughter of Aphrodite. Seeing what could be in terms of relationships was great on its own, but when you had competition, it was a whole different story.

"Yeah, _oops_. C'mon. Let's go find that guy."


	29. Chapter 29

Right, I'm finally making longer chapters, this is was a little more than three pages on Microsoft Word, :D. Enjoy it well, 'cuz I'll probably need two more days to finish the next chapter...Review, Pleaseee! I have right now, 29 reviews, one for each chapter, but there's always room for more so, pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, click that button!

29 Percy

Percy was doing his best to not show the pain that twisted his gut. His lethargic eyes moved aimlessly around the room and came to fall on his mother's eyes, wide with concern but blurry- either with the tears that filled them or Percy's own numbed state of mind. The amount of blood that lined her hands was appalling, and his terror intensified as he realized that it was his own.

The icy pain of the cream-olive cast's grip on his wounded arm swept through his system. In a vain attempt to distract himself, he rasped out, "What happened?"

Whatever his mother replied was lost though, in another wave of pain and sound. He raised his hands to his head, which brought on a bitter reaction- an excruciatingly painful flood of agony. **The hiss-hum had disappeared entirely**, but to no celebration, as it allowed Percy's heightened senses to pick out every strain of his muscles.

The brackish taste of blood repulsed him, and he found his best friend Grover beside him, reading his thoughts and responding to them. With the pain dulling mercifully and his head clear, he was able to understand the conversation.

"Go get a bucket for him to spit in! And a glass of water. Annabeth, give him some ambrosia and nectar. Paul- where's Paul?"

The man promptly entered, a first-aid box in his hand. "This is no good. Take off that bandage. His skin in bloody underneath, we need to clean it first." Grover gave a few half-hearted tries at the pulling the bandage apart, but the cast held steadfast to Percy's arm.

"No, don't!" Annabeth warned. "That's Athena's blessing. It's good for him…I think." The owl, who everyone but Grover had forgotten about, cooed in agreement. "See? It's fine, he'll be fine." She repeated, sounding like she was trying to convince herself. She raised her head from her backpack, and pulled out the foods triumphantly.

As a bucket was slipped under his chin, Percy spat out a few mouthfuls of blood. Annabeth gently slipped in the correct amounts of ambrosia and nectar afterwards. It was sweet, though still slightly tainted with the metallic aftertaste of the claret-like fluid that still sloshed in the corners of his mouth. He sat up.

"Stop!" he directed, his voice strangely strong, ringing through the quiet room. Four pairs of hands immediately ceased action. "I'm fine, okay? I'm great actually. Can I have some space please?"

"Can I have an explanation?" Annabeth asked, the only one still pressed against the couch. Percy smiled, and gently swung his legs off the couch.

"Gaea. I think that's explanation enough."

Annabeth frowned. "What's wrong with your arm? Did you break it when you fell?"

"Uh...no. Nothing should be wrong with it…what did you say before? Athena's blessing?" He asked, **slanting one ear toward the bandaged arm in a subconscious act.**

"That bandage is a blessing from Athena. It's supposed to protect you." Annabeth's frown deepened into a scowl. "The owl over there though, insists that it's supposed to protect the camp from any harm you could bring."

The owl whistled furiously and thrust its wings forcefully into the air, violently taking off.

"Right. I think we should leave as well. Athena's clearly not very pleased with our reaction to her blessing" Grover mumbled.

"But, wait, you just got here-" Sally Jackson- er, Blofis- stopped herself. Putting on a brave face, she stood and began picking up things lying around the house, mostly Percy's t-shirts, despite his long absence. She gathered his clothes, a flashlight, batteries, a sleeping bag, and several sloshing travel mugs into a gigantic bag.

Percy didn't know what they contained, but he could bet on the fate of gods that it was something blue. He caught his mother's gaze and they both laughed loudly, while Grover, Paul, and Annabeth stared on, confused. A moment later, Grover sighed, "Oh!" and started laughing too.

Now it was Percy and his mother's turn to be confused. A second later, they remembered the empathy link and started laughing again. Annabeth looked at them strangely and yelled, "What the hell's going on? What's that witch doing to you!"

Percy got up warily, but it was an aimless precaution, as the ambrosia and nectar, and probably Athena's blessing as well, had healed him almost completely. He only carried a headache and choppy sense of hearing.

He patted Annabeth's shoulder comfortingly and limped into a bathroom to clean up. When he'd returned, everyone was sitting down, and Grover was sharing some herbal recipe that removed blood stains with his mother. Percy looked at the couch, its clean color tainted with a very ugly shade of red that was caking into an even more unpleasant brown.

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that!" he told his mother.

She shook her head as if thinking: _My son's an idiot. _ "I hope you're not like this in battle. Chop, smash, slash- Oh, sorry about that, would you like some taffy?"

Percy grinned and shook his head, "One day, you'll see what we can do to a group of monsters. Then you won't be making many more jokes."

His mother's eyes brightened, but in way he didn't want to see. It was the expression of someone with a far-stretched idea plotting on how to convince the other that it was reasonable. "Why don't I come with you to Rome?"

Percy's expression fell and he insisted, "No, that's not happening. Think about it Mom, you'll only distract me during battle. I don't want to have to worry about you as well as all the other campers. Please, please, don't do this."

Smiling craftily, Paul asked, "Who said it was to be with you Percy? Maybe we're going on a honeymoon."

Percy frowned, and received an half-apologetic look from Paul, but he knew he'd never get his mom out of this now. The best he would manage would be a compromise.

"You're not coming to Rome-"

"Now, Percy-" his mother started.

"Wait! You'll be in Venice. Near the waters, safe, enjoying your- what did you call it? _Honeymoon? _ Yeah, good one." Percy replied, shaking his head and smiling.

His mother didn't seem very pleased, but being Percy's mother, she knew just as he had that there was no changing his mind completely. "Not Venice. That's too far away. Naples or Perugia. You choose, Percy."

"Naples. It's closer to the sea." Percy answered, insistent that Paul and his mother be near the protection of Poseidon. Paul obviously wasn't very happy with that, but didn't object.

"So that's settled. Why don't you three get back to camp now? We'll leave tomorrow, how about you?"

"Same, Mrs. Blofis. But we'll reach Rome later than you'll reach Naples. Our ship doesn't exactly go at supersonic speeds." Grover replied. Percy remembered that he was on a schedule; the faster they got to Rome, the less likely Gaea would interfere.

"All right then. You kids take care. I'm going to go find some tickets online. Take care of Percy!"

Percy tried not to show that he was embarrassed by that but Annabeth could read his face too well, and Grover, well Grover practically read his mind. _This empathy link thing isn't that great, you know._ Percy thought. Grover snickered.

When they'd descended the stairs, the Pegasi were long gone, and only Blackjack remained faithfully on his post, in front of a dumpster, rummaging for cheeseburgers. They headed back to camp, Blackjack struggling to hold the weight of all three of them. Percy decided he'd find another way back home.

"How?" Grover asked him.

"Just wait and watch. It's not as grand as you'd imagine." Percy grunted. He concentrated, summoning all the water around him. He was under the idea that he would be able to convince any water around him, salty or not, to carry him back to camp. Sensing a large store of it, he pulled on the source, and unexpectedly, a manhole cover blew out of the ground, and suspiciously murky water burst out, charging straight at Percy. Unfortunately for him, he forgot to think _dry. _


	30. Chapter 30

**Here's a long chapter! :D Do me a favor, and review please!**

30 Leo

They found Jason in the Zeus cabin, talking with Thalia. Reyna had camped in the Demeter's cabin. All the Greek campers who hadn't come to New Rome were busy packing away, listening to stories about Terminus' death and the glory of the now abandoned Camp Jupiter.

By evening time, everyone was packed. The Romans had unwillingly agreed to use Greek supplies for the night instead of going through the trouble of unpacking, then packing again. Reyna had convinced them of course. Among her campers, her powers of speech seemed just as effective as Piper's but Leo didn't dare mention that.

Leo hadn't been in the Camp Half-Blood long enough to miss it while on his visit to Camp Jupiter, but now he was unbelievably happy to be back home. Even if it was just for a day, his old bunk, and familiar texture of the tools and anvils of the Forge made him feel at home. He'd left Piper, Jason, and Thalia and was cherishing every moment of his free time.

He found himself making a pipe system and his mind drifted out into the funny topic of sewage. A thought occurred to him: there wasn't a bathroom on the ship. How he'd missed that after six months of hard work was unfathomable, but he was determined to make the trip to Rome as comfortable as possible. Besides, what captain doesn't enjoy the pleasure of adding a few upgrades to his ship?

He made his way to Demeter's cabin, and Miranda Gardiner opened the door. She held it slightly ajar with her foot, her hands busy tending to a tomato plant. "What do you want, Fireboy?" she spat out; apparently his "secret" ability was no longer as confidential as he'd thought.

"Is the Roman Praetor in? I need to discuss a few upgra-"

"You'll probably burn up our hard work. Go away." She interrupted, cradling the potted plant like Leo was hungry for the vegetable, and would snatch it away at any time. _Just like Demeter, over-protective, all right! _Leo thought, remembering everything he'd learned about the Greek gods.

"You're right; I could burn it all up." Leo paused, put on his best bad-guy smile, and lit a small flame in his palm. The effort was taxing, but he did his best to hide the strain. Adding a fiercer glow to it, he threatened, "Now, if you want this to remain in my palm, let me in. Or inform the Praetor."

Miranda was obviously infuriated and wasn't going to let Leo get away with such an insult totally unscathed. "I'll inform her all right. There's no way _you_ are coming in here!" She huffed and turned away.

Reyna came out a few moments later, eyebrows raised. As she began to ask a question, Leo stopped her, and bent down. Taking a dried twig from the ground, he rubbed it against his palm and set it against a vine. A flame moved strangely across it, like a blaze on a gunpowder trail, for a few moments before it died, leaving an ugly charred twine behind. He smiled, satisfied.

"So the Greeks aren't always a big happy family, huh?" Reyna commented, smiling.

"They never were, right? The ancient poleis never really worked together unless there was a greater force against them." Leo replied.

"And here the Romans differ. Despite the segregation of ranks, we are always about cooperation and coordination," she paused, looking at him again. "What did you call me for?"

They walked on, behind Demeter's cabin, towards the Canoe Lake. "I wanted to talk to you about adding a bathroom to Argo II."

Reyna's shapely eyebrows furrowed and she asked, "Why would you need to ask me? It _is _your ship."

Leo asked himself the same question. _Why_ did_ I go to her? Maybe it's because she's so commanding._ He looked at Reyna again. _Nah, probably because she's so hot. Yeah. That seems about right. _ He contemplated telling her that, and wisely decided that it wasn't such a good idea.

Looking at the shower stalls, he grabbed his opportunity of escape: "Hey, what's the big cue over there?" There was, in fact, a large cue of both boys and girls alike waiting for a chance to enter the bathroom stalls.

"Actually, it's on the same topic. Miranda told me that word got out that there were no bathrooms on the ship, and getting a hotel in Rome and Greece was a long shot. Of course, the children of Venus and Aphrodite went berserk." Reyna said trying not to grin.

Leo looked at the long line again. "Wait a minute, those guys over there,"- he paused to point out the bunch-, "those are Athena's kids."

"Minerva's children did some research. Apparently, surveys show that demigods fight better when they're comfortable and clean."

"Isn't that obvious?" Leo asked, grinning as well now.

Walking on, Reyna replied, "They are Minerva's kids, soldier. They are the descendants of Plato, Aristotle and the like. Proof is a necessity for them." They crossed the bridge that went over the waterway to Canoe Lake, and soon enough, ended up at Thalia's Pine.

Leo spent some time explaining its history to Reyna. The whispers of a breeze were the only interruptions in the silence that followed. "You, know Leo, you're not such bad company," Reyna offered.

Looking into the distance, he muttered, "And now isn't that something, coming from a _Queen._"

"What?" Reyna snapped sharply.

_Did I just say that out loud? _ Leo wondered. Watching Reyna's now aloof, guarded expression, he thought, _Yeah, probably. _

"Reyna," he said. "It means 'queen' in Spanish."

A subdued look of surprise replace Reyna's previous glare. "Oh," she said simply. _She probably thought I was trying to hit on her, _Leo thought. _Eh. Would have happened soon enough anyway, _he concluded

"You're Spanish?" Reyna asked, trying to hide how she'd reacted to her assumption.

Now it was Leo's turn to become cold and reserved. His jaw tightened harshly and he nodded, fixing his eyes firmly on the horizon. Reyna raised her eyebrows, and tapped the ground between them softly, not knowing whether she should keep quiet, comfort him, or try to distract him from whatever had caused the reaction.

She was saved from having to make a decision as silhouettes came to the base of the hill. The sun set in the west and it threw shadows over the trio, but Reyna and Leo could guess who they were. Percy seemed to be riding on a large wave, like the ones that surfers loved. But, even from a distance the water seemed dirty. As they ascended, their suspicions were shown to be correct.

Percy rode on a mega-wave of sewage water, his face crumpled up in disgust. Annabeth and Grover flew on a black Pegasus and had similar expressions. Halfway up the hill, the water collapsed underneath Percy and he began to climb on foot, exhaustion lining his face. _Guess he wasn't lying about the whole 'it only works in Camp Jupiter' thing, _Leo thought.

Annabeth dismounted, her hand whipped out from behind her back, and just like that, she disappeared. Percy stopped, and then disappeared as well. Grover didn't seem concerned. At the top of the hill, they both reappeared, Percy's cheeks flushed with something more than just fatigue.


	31. Chapter 31

**Hey guys, thanks for the reviews :D And I know summer vacation is getting to you, I'm becoming lazy as well, but please log in so I can reply to your reviews! Anyway, here's chapter 31! **

31 Percy

When Annabeth put her Yankees cap on, Percy had guessed that she would just kiss him or something. But instead, she came to him- and Percy only guessed this part as she was invisible then- and bent the tip of the cap toward him. He felt a tingling as its end touched his forehead and he turned invisible.

Then he felt her arms around him, lifting him up. Her steps were a little wobbly, and having to maintain a connection between his head and the cap made it an even more difficult climb, but they made it to the top without a single person having to see the embarrassing sight.

His knees were weak as he stood, and he thought: _Note to self: don't try tricks with sewage water. _"Thank you," he told her, and he moved his head away from the brim of her cap.

Grabbing his hand, Annabeth simply smiled. Like a Cheshire cat. Her lips began to part and then she ended up rolling on the ground, laughing her heart out. "The look on your face!" she said, between howling guffaws.

Percy licked his lips, trying to tame the smile that escaped him and said, "Get up, before people ask questions."

Stilling laughing quietly, she picked herself up and folded up her Yankees cap. Percy leaned against her and walked toward the cabins. Grover followed behind them, frowning at the litter on the ground, and even farther back, Reyna and Leo stood.

Admiring Blackjack, Reyna shouted ahead, "Quite a Pegasus you have here, Percy. Maybe, if we all get out of this alive, we'll have a race."

The half-horse whinnied happily and shook its mane, locks glistening in the sunset just like the jet of the Native Americans. "Sure, Reyna, and we'll see to it that Scipio gets his peanut butter coat quite dirty before he ever gets the chance to win."

Percy turned back to Annabeth, her grey eyes as dazzling as the Centenary Diamond. He looked around him, slightly confused. Everything looked like diamonds and gems, the sun, a glowing topaz, the sky, a mesmerizing turquoise plate. The mountains were piles of emeralds and Annabeth's concerned frown a strip of ruby. Percy shook his head clear and gulped down some nectar from the bottle he now carried, continuing until Annabeth snatched it out of his hand.

"You'll kill yourself. C'mon, go get some sleep." Annabeth urged, shoving him gently toward the direction of Poseidon's cabin.

As he approached the door, Percy stopped. _Am I imagining this?_ Percy wondered, as he heard water splashing, louder than he'd expect from a fountain alone. Cautious, Percy knocked on the door, feeling a little stupid himself. Who would be in there, other than maybe Tyson? But a panicked shriek escaped the aquamarine walls.

Percy shook his head again, trying to rid all the connections he was making to different jewels. Two girls, messily dressed in the camp's clothes emerged.

"What in the names of the gods were you doing in there!" Percy asked angrily.

"Sorry, Perce!" the first girl apologized, a daughter of Aphrodite or Venus. "But, the showers are packed, and we heard there was a saltwater fountain here so…" she trailed off.

Percy was quite annoyed, but let them pass without further comment. A knock landed on his door a few moments later. _At least some people here are half decent! _Percy thought.

"Hey, Percy," Hazel started.

Seeing her, his mind clicked. "By any chance, are you messing with any precious metals around here?" Her face paled and Percy thought, _Jackpot! _Smiling, he said, "C'mon, spit it out."

"Well…ever since you mentioned being tested, and pushed to our limits, like you were with the bubble, I've been trying bring up bigger jewels. The faster I learn to, the more I can help."

"From Long Island Sound!" Percy questioned, incredulous.

"How did you know that?" she asked suspiciously.

"Well, this little experimenting has been messing with my brain. I _am _part seawater, you know. I sense it when someone's messing with the ocean. Or estuary, in this case. Don't mess with the Fates, Hazel, the time will come for you to prove yourself."

Hazel snickered and said, "Yeah, easy for you to say. You were among friends when you were pushed to your limits, and your dad was watching you for Zeus's sake. Me, with my luck, oh, I'll probably have to do this while in the midst of fighting a giant!"

"You're right," Percy said, confident that Hazel could take a joke. "Good luck with that!"

As he'd suspected, she smiled and walked off. As night set in, more and more citizens of New Rome crowded into his cabin. He'd expected it, as all the citizens of New Rome wouldn't have been able to fit into a few cabins alone, but his cabin was a big hit. Apparently, the showers weren't good enough for them, and his fountain was as close as they would get to the Roman baths. Percy tried to convince them that it was disrespectful, but they were too homesick and ignorant of Poseidon to care. Thankfully, no one turned into a starfish overnight. No, rephrase that, no one _important _was turned into a starfish that night.


	32. Chapter 32

**Thank you for getting me to 1.13K hits :D Of course...there's always room for more, so...if you really like this MOA fanfic, it would be great if you just spread the word... please? :D Anyway, I have a few things to say: 1. I just realized that my title says "MOA Chapter 1"...bonehead moment...is there anyway I can change that? _2. This might not make sense now, but "tap" equals one dot and "thud" equals one dash, so if you want to translate, put it into dots and dashes form, and find an online translator from there. _Sorry for the long process, but when I put in normal dots and dashes, FanFic changes it. :/ Ah well, if you're bored, you'll do it. You're probably lost right now, but just read on! :)**

32 Leo

Leo couldn't help but feel bad. After having to leave his first home, as shabby as it might have been, leaving Camp Half-Blood made his whole life feel like a continuous chain of horrible events. And then, his mind was an unmoving rock, placed on the memories of his mother, pushed there by last night's conversation with Reyna.

The procedure of getting all the Roman and Greek campers comfortably settled into Argo II was strenuous, and Leo didn't even have the heart to admire his beautiful ship. His heart pounded wearily at a quick tempo, like a sputtering engine. He moved and did as he was told, but other than such basic interactions, he was as isolated a prisoner in a cell, under the disguise of apathy.

"Leo, the bathroom you put in yesterday, I think its bust. Water's leaking into my room, and it's right by it." Leo didn't budge. The demigod nudged him.

He looked up wearily. "What?"

Hearing the complaint, his brain brought back some emotion. To fix, to create, it was what he loved. Getting up, he descended the flight of stairs to the bathroom. He'd only had an evening to install it into the tight space left over from his building efforts, so it was a mess of pipes, nuts, and bolts.

A thin curtain divided the shower stall and toilet from the rest of the cramped place. The sound of water splashing alerted him that someone was inside, and humid steam escaped from behind the curtain, reminding him of a movie he'd once seen, where an interstellar voyager was forced to fix a major problem in the engine room of his ship.

He crouched in one corner, the one farthest from the shower, and got to work. The loud noise of water and sudden change in temperature further cleared the pained memories from his mind. Looking back at the shower, he thought, _Yeah, definitely not a girl. Would have heard much more fuss over shampoo bottles and towels. _

Now able to work peacefully, he turned to the leaky pipe, which was fizzing water into a hole in the wooden flooring. He fixed it in a matter of minutes, contemptly looking at his messy work. Of course, he had been distracted when he'd done it all, with thoughts of his moth-

Shaking his head, he attempted to busy himself with cleaning up the tangle of pipes. But that reminded him of Hephaestus, and then he was back to his deceased mother. Seeing that escape was impossible, he gave up, let his legs collapse underneath him and covered his face in his hands and let out a sob. The water from the shower quieted.

Putting his hand against the wooden board, he tapped out a message in Morse code, like he'd used to before everything had gone wrong.

Leo hit the wood loudly against the wood. _Why can't you come back?_

No reply. Tears streaming down his face, he banged his fist against the floor.

_I miss you._

Silence. And then ever so quietly-

tap thud tap tap. Pause. tap. Pause. thud thud thud. Pause. tap tap thud thud tap tap.

Scrambling to get a grip on the wall, Leo stood. Pausing for a second, he stared at the chocolate-colored wood. Then he ran out of the room, heart pushing against his chest like a bird waiting to be set free from its cage.


	33. Chapter 33

**Sorry I haven't updated in so long, but like I've told most of you, wait till my school ends (June 20th) and I'll make a consistent updating schedule! I was just looking back over my latest posts, and I just realized that a whole page on Microsoft Word looks barely more than half a page on FanFic! Sorry! This is not much better lengthwise, but its the end of one romance... so enjoy! and review...**

33 Jason

Jason was sitting beside Annabeth and Percy, as well as Piper. The couple sat a reasonable distance apart, but they kept bumping their toes together. The small action, however trivial, was making the situation uncomfortable between Jason and Piper. Jason still had feelings for Reyna, but they were numbed from his memory loss, and Piper, he'd only known for a few months. So he was playing neutral.

_Bump, bump. _ Jason sighed and thought, _Will you stop it already?_

Annabeth caught his look and crossed her legs onto her lap. Percy leaned forward and asked, "Where's everyone else?"

"Leo's down fixing some leak. Frank and Hazel, I have no idea. Same for Reyna," Jason replied, trying to keep his voice from fluctuating at the last name. He succeeded, and he saw Piper's satisfied expression. That made him happy, and he was back to wondering about the two girls.

"Right." Percy said. "I guess I should save announcements for later, then."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows, but didn't urge him. Piper on the other hand, put on her silky soft, mesmerizing voice, "Percy, I command you to tell us your announcements."

"Well, I-" Percy grimaced and stopped. "Huh, you _are_ good. But not good enough, at least not when I'm sailing at sea."

Percy stood, and Jason recoiled. Percy turned toward him and asked, "You okay, Jase?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I just felt my ears pop." Percy frowned, and exchanged a loaded glance with Annabeth.

"Are you guys going to tell us the contents of your telepathic conversation?" Piper urged.

"Not just yet…" Annabeth said with grin.

Frowning, Piper replied, quite randomly, "I wonder which one of us would win in a debate…"

"Team Piper," Percy announced.

"Team…Annabeth," Jason said thoughtfully.

The two girls glared at their crushes. Jason and Percy exchanged a glance, having their own little telepathic exchange, then laughed and said simultaneously, "Just kidding!"

The girls didn't withdraw their stares. Percy glanced at Jason and flicked his eyes toward the hallway behind them. But before they could run, Annabeth and Piper stepped forward and grabbed one boy each, and announced, "You ain't going nowhere, traitors."

Percy grinned at Piper behind Annabeth's golden hair and said, "Hey, you're on my team right, Pipes?" Likewise, Jason winked at Annabeth while Piper was distracted.

The girls exchanged glances and in that split second, Jason burst into the air, frustratingly only an inch from Piper's reach. Percy on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. Annabeth hadn't allowed herself to become distracted a second time and was spinning Percy to land in a headlock. Percy allowed it, but twisted halfway through the maneuver so he settled face up.

Watching Annabeth's triumphant face, he dragged out the phrase, "Hey-y-y sw-e-e-e-e-theart. Sorry you didn't get a chance to clean up yesterday. Let me make it up to you."

Promptly, a wave curved majestically over the port-side and picked Percy and Annabeth right off their feet and into the ocean.

Piper look at Jason, frowning, "How come you can't do things like that?"

Jason grinned and said, "You want that? No problem!" A split second later, a gust of air plopped Piper- might I note: quite harshly- into the sea.

Jason remained floating in the air as Piper came gasping up, shouting, "I'll kill you, boy!"

Jason laughed. Looking at the waters around Piper, he asked, "I don't suppose they'll be coming up anytime soon?" Piper shrugged and dived down. When she came up, she had a strange expression on her face.

"No, they're at it again. Mwah, mwah, mwah!"

Jason laughed and raised his eyebrows. "They make up real quick."

Smiling seductively, Piper drawled out, "Come in here, I can make up even quicker."

Jason felt himself slowly letting go of the air. He hit the water, and looked at Piper happily. The romantic moment was ruined as she rolled her eyes and dunked his head underwater. _Aphrodite's definitely made a mistake about this one being hers. Girlfriends aren't supposed to do that, are they?_

He realized he'd just thought of Piper as his girlfriend. One last thought of Reyna whipped around his mind, and then he grabbed Piper around the waist, liked he'd done the first time in the Grand Canyon, and propelled out of the water like a dolphin.


	34. Chapter 34

**Right, I'm SO sorry I'm not updating! I have accumulative tests this time of year...damn them teachers. -.- Anyway, I'm taking back that promise of June 20th, and will do my absolute best to start consistently putting up chapters by the next weekend (16-17 June) How's that? :) Thank you to everyone who's been reviewing and crap, your freakin' awesome! :D Going into Aphrodite mode here when I say "I love you guys!"**

34 Annabeth

As soon as she got in the water, Annabeth grabbed Percy's arm and tugged hard. A bubble wobbled into shape around them. Looking overhead, she saw Piper watching. She kissed Percy until the demigod turned away.

Pulling back, she stared at Percy. "What's going on?"

Percy looked at the seabed nonchalantly and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Annabeth huffed and turned her head to the side, exasperated. "C'mon Percy. Don't joke with me here."

Percy shook a hand through his hair, still avoiding Annabeth's gaze. "Listen, I know something's up. But I don't know what, and all I can tell you is that my head is buzzing again."

Annabeth frowned, like that wasn't what she'd hoped to hear. "So?"

"We're at sea. I should have the advantage here, not Gaea. Poseidon has control of all of this, so why is Gaea getting through?"

"Poseidon could be busy, " she said hesitantly. "Is that all you notice?"

Now it was Percy turn to frown. "Yeah, why?"

Annabeth hesitated again. "Nothing. Nevermind."

Folding his arms, Percy announced, "You're hiding something. I know it. What is it, Annie?"

Annabeth mimicked a gagging action and muttered, "Annie? What am I, the orphan?"

"Beth, then? Betty?" Percy asked, raising his eyebrows.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and replied, "Let's just stick with the original, shall we? Or do you want me to call you microwave man from now on?"

Seeing his clueless expression she explained, "You, know, Percy Spencer? The guy who made the microwave? US patent 2,495,42-"

"Right, Annabeth, at some point, you'll have to figure out that I don't really care about these things…"

"Who knows, maybe it'll save your life." Annabeth said, smiling.

"Yeah, if that happens, I'll quit being your boyfriend. I swear on the river Sty-"

Annabeth shoved him to the side of the bubble. "Stop it!"

Percy raised his eyebrow and asked skeptically, "And how do you suppose knowing the inventor of the microwave will save my life?"

Grinning, Annabeth replied, "Maybe Gaea likes to play 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'"

_Yeah, definitely, _Percy thought. Annabeth's grin got wider.

A few minutes later, the pair surfaced, mostly in the fear that the ship would sink without someone driving it…

They found Leo on at the wheel. He was sweating uncontrollably.

"Been working on the ship, Repair boy?" Piper asked, just then floating over the edge of the ship with Jason by her. She hit the wood flooring softly, while Jason remained in the air, looking pretty confident of his powers.

Annabeth discreetly tickled Percy's palm then walked off with Piper, saying, "You keep doing that, and he'll throw you off the ship, Piper. Six months have taught me that Leo doesn't know the border between a good joke and a cruel act."

"Oh, but I'm too darn beautiful to throw off, right Leo?" Piper taunted. Leo nodded, then frowned and said, "Wait, what did I just say?"

"And you love your nickname, right Repair Boy?" she continued, her face so innocent-looking there might as well have been a halo over it.

Leo nodded so eagerly, he resembled a sloppy puppy, in sharp contrast with Piper's superior glare. Then his features regained their usual hyper appearance, his eyes brightening sharply. "Kick a man when he's down, will you?" he spat out.

Piper frowned, crossed her arms, looking a little guilty and embarrassed. "Okay… What's up?"

Leo noticed the four pairs of eyes on him and smiled, if a little reluctantly. "What? Can't get grumpy over a leak?"

"Hmm, yeah, I imagine that's very scarring to you sons of Hephaestus." Piper said. "C'mon Annabeth, let's get everyone for that big announcement Percy's supposed to give. I bet it's life changing."

"Oh stop teasing him, Piper. He's not that bad under the salty smell."

"Yeah, what's up with that? I feel like puking every time I'm near the guy."

_What salty smell?_ Percy thought, pouting.

**Shiny blue button right there, yup. Click it, darlings. (and I know nothing important happened...but they'll be in Rome next chapter!) For your aunty GreenSeas! And you know from PJO: The Lightning Thief just how dangerous aunties can be... who knows, I could be like Aunty Em, Medusa...so click that button. Or else...**


	35. Chapter 35

**Alright, chapter 35...remember 16 and 17th June, and steady updates! I don't know if I'm the only one who just realized this now, but go to YouTube and on CassJayTuck's videos, you can find a great video of Rick Riordan reading the first chapter of MOA! I laughed so many times, I didn't bother counting.** **It was so awesomeee- and confusing- what's wrong with Jason? And why is the cover showing Jason and Percy fighting? AGH! **

35 Jason

During the time it took to cross the Atlantic, Jason was uneasy. He'd learned much about his sister in his time on Camp Half-Blood, before their initial leave, and he used everything he'd found about Thalia to console him. _Surely his uneasiness was no match for her acrophobia?_

His mind wouldn't rest though, so he decided to nap. He forced himself to shut his eyes and fell asleep soon enough. When he awoke, the nauseating swaying of the ship had ceased. _That was supposed to be _nap_, not a coma… _he thought tiredly.

On deck, the whole of his friends stood, Greek and Roman alike. As he pushed his way through the crowded bow of the ship, the reality of the situation dawned on him: he had slept through a cross-Atlantic journey. His logic told him that such a trip by sea would have taken days but…

Percy, Thalia, Clarisse took up the center of the crowd, but all eyes were on Reyna and Annabeth. His old praetor friend faced her army confidently and brotherly pride rang through him. Annabeth stood frowning at the scenery behind the sturdy rail of the Argo II. A steep hill stemmed from the coast, which itself was narrow and deserted. _Not that it would matter, with the Mist. _

"Does everyone know their positions? Humiliate yourself now rather than ruin the plan later," Reyna was saying. A few hands went up warily, and their owners received curt admonishments and instructions. As they were being explained, Jason interrupted.

"What? We changed our plans?"

The whole of the army stopped, and stared at Jason. Finally, Reyna spoke up. "Yes, Jason. You were asleep. The gods, they told us to leave you be. You've slept through the whole journey."

Jason hid his surprise and bewilderment and nodded, like he knew what he was doing. "So what's my position, Praetor?"

"You're position is in the center-most. On your part, nothing else has changed; you'll be by Poseidon, if he consents. If he doesn't, then you'll-"

"Shh!" Annabeth hissed. The army fell as silent as a crowd of dead men.

"Just when I needed to fart…" Leo muttered bitterly.

"I don't hear anything," Octavian complained.

Annabeth straightened herself from the thick, bronze rail of the ship. "Exactly. It's too quiet. We're close enough to the Tiber River for there to be some towns. But see?-" Annabeth gestured at the tree-spotted hills, where not a single leaf stirred. "Nothing."

Reyna shook her head and walked toward the exit ramp. "There is no point in being afraid of silence. Let's move in. Leo, you take the Tiber once us Romans and the selected Greeks touch ground. This won't be the first battle, so once it ends, we move in- to Roma."

And just like that, they were off to kill the giants that were undoubtedly, lurking behind the hills.


	36. Chapter 36

**All right, I've finally uploaded, as promised, on June 17th! This was 4 pages long on M. Word, and took quite a few lazy days to complete, but it's done! :) I hope all of you that are enjoying your summer vacation (or crying over the start of a new school year, depending on where you live) will still have time to follow my updates! My schedule- I think- will be one chapter in two days. Feedback, please, on my new, TENTATIVE schedule, as well as chapter 36!**

**36**

**Part I: Hazel**

Hazel was felt calmer than a sloth. Octavian on the other hand, was a whole different story. He was sweating like a female dog in heat. His mouth was constantly filling with unneeded saliva and his tongue occasionally lolled out, like he would lick himself clean as well. Even his butt was held slightly aloft, and it looked- unfortunately- twice its usual size. Hazel didn't know if Octavian was constipated, or just nervous.

Whatever it was, it sure was fun to watch! The girl had to hide her face behind a curtain of hair to stop herself from showing her laughing expression. It turned more passive though, as she began the tedious climb up the steep hillside. Luckily for Frank and her, Arion was there to take them uphill. Though it took much encouragement, the horse had slowed down the pace of a normal horse, which must have been unbelievably boring compared to the usual supersonic speeds it was used to. Looking back at the army- Hazel and Frank were part of the vanguard- she saw Percy on his stunning black Pegasus, which seemed to be leaving behind an obvious trial of- was that _pee? _No, no, a horse couldn't let out that much at once could it? It was a Hannibal-sized trail of liquid. It was, well- a well's worth of water- trailing all the way back to the sea.

For someone who was heading into an army of blood-thirsty giants, Hazel sure was in a good humor. She asked Frank and told him what she thought of it he laughed till he was bent over on Arion. He straightened promptly after Arion started shaking his butt like a rodeo horse.

"That's his connection to the sea, Hazel. Can't believe you thought it was _pee_…"

"Alright, alright, it was a stupid question." The rest of the climb was left silent and for the better as Hazel's nerves were beginning to buzz with the excitement of action. She might not be as crazy ADHD as some of the other demigods, but she still had that "need for speed", or something of the sort.

Reyna, mounted elegantly on Scipio, rose above the vanguard, barely below the mountain's shelter and had the Pegasus claw his hoof in the air, like he was trying to kick up dust. The army came to an immediate standstill. The Greeks weren't accustomed to the sign, but caught on quickly- the whole of the army raised their weapons at the ready and reset their feet. Reyna nodded approvingly then swiftly turned herself around.

The Pegasus's peanut-butter wings flapped impatiently before they slapped the air with a thudding force and burst itself and its master clear into the sky. The vanguard slowly crept higher up the precipice and peered at the scene: The black dot that once was their commander was disappearing into the mist, toward another ring of hills. In the valley between them, innumerable amount of beasts lay in wait- some of them seeping, some of them patrolling, but most of them eating. The black dot was now a blurry speck. A few minutes passed, then in one big commotion the giants all rose, even the sleeping ones, and picked up rocks and began throwing them toward the distant hills. All their backs faced the demigods.

Frank dismounted Arion and made a waving motion. The army split into three and an old war was being fought again.

Reyna's motto was simple- learn from the past. Obviously, when it came to battles, using a plan that had been played out before was not the best of ideas, as it could be expected. But for this first war at least, Reyna was confident that it would work. _If Gaea doesn't decide to read our minds. If the gods show up. If the giants are stupid enough. That's a lot of _ifs.

But giants _are _stupid, the gods _would_ show up, and Gaea wouldn't bother with them for the time being- this was Annabeth's consolation. She had drawn the last conclusion from a hunter's report, which assured the Romans and Greeks that all of Gaea's eath-moving powers were being used to deter the seekers of the Doors of Death. Artemis's hunting guard hadn't come with the army. They'd found a shortcut to the underworld, a "Highway to Hell", you could say. Frank imagined the serious bunch of girls, all dressed up in silver uniforms, humming the song.

"_I'm on the highway to hell. Highway to hell_," Frank started to mutter. Hazel looked at him and said, grinning, "_And we're going down, all the way down…"_

**Part II: Frank**

"We sure are," he replied, and he motioned for his troops to move ahead, over the narrow peak, and down the steep slope. He toughened his nerves with encouraging thoughts. _This tactic has won many battles. Alexander the Great used it, Scipio used it, and they both emerged victorious. We have a superior cavalry thanks to the Greeks, and our most powerful warriors command it. We will succeed._

Ahead, not giant laid his eyes on towards the coast. Transfixed on hitting a speck-like target, they didn't notice the demigods creeping behind them like determined worker ants. Frank watched the vanguard move soundlessly down the slope, and took a minute to say goodbye to Hazel.

He'd meant for a curt, straightforward farewell and good luck, but apparently, Hazel had other plans.

"I'm surprised Reyna let me take this position. Good thing I came up with that 'I need to get a view of the landscape first' excuse. But this might be the last time I see your chubby little face, so I think I owe you something." Hazel leaned forward, and Frank did the same, closing his eyes.

Now, he wasn't quite sure what happened next as his eyes were closed and his sense of touch was numbed, as were his nerves. But he could put a good bet on this: it wasn't Hazel that had kissed him. Because instead of withdrawing with an exciting beat to his heart, red cheeks, and warm lips, he retreated with a sputtering mind, cold skin, and a slobber-coated face.

The horse and its rider though, had sped off long before he'd even grimaced. Wiping a wet face on his sweater, he moved down the slope, keeping a keen eye on the left and right flanks. His vanguard had taken position directly in front of a powerful infantry armed with even more powerful weapons, made of mostly Roman soldiers, and the Greek Ares cabin. Even farther behind that was the Camp Half-Blood made cavalry.

He felt tempted to glance in Hazel's direction, but his common sense and instincts differed in opinion; Arion would have taken her far off by now, leading the rear section of the army in Reyna's direction, and being a son of Mars, he knew that distractions of that sort were something to avoid. Aphrodite might have said otherwise, but…

_It's quiet amazing that they haven't heard us_, Frank thought to himself. Despite having ordered complete silence, the occasional clink of armor against weapon rang throughout the valley. Of course, the giants themselves were making a loud, unruly ruckus, and Frank figured that such noises struggled to penetrate their thick skulls.

Frank signaled the left and right flanks to position themselves for attack. The giants were still occupied with throwing stones toward the rugged mountains. Their ammunition sailed gracefully over many like-wise occupied earth-borns and clashed with the slopes. Frank hoped to the gods that Fortuna was by his praetor's side.

Then, like an odd man out, a text-book sized rock sailed toward the giants. Everyone member of the flanks, vanguard, and infantry saw it, and charged toward the unsuspecting mob of giants. Despite their utterly grotesque appearance, the demigods only grimaced as they assailed their enemies with _pilai, gladia, pugiones, plumbata, Hastae, kopides, xiphoi, hoplons, _and countless other weapons.

They found resistance; the giants were much stronger than they were, and their numbers, though inferior, were still impressive. The demigods made seven meters (8 yards) of progress and then were locked to the ground by the full force of the brutes. Frank pushed his vanguard on, tearing up the monsters from the feet up, forcing them to the ground. Their humongous feet though, were an ever-present threat, and the demigods didn't need an augur to know the damage that would come by them.

By now, the giants had ceased their relentless throw of debris toward the mountains. The plan was shaping into reality. The demigods' infantry had placed their attack on a moment where their cavalry benefitted and the giants were unaware of their position. The next makeshift signal from the infantry would mark the beginning of the cavalry's advance. Then the _hammer and the anvil _maneuver would be complete.

Over the cavalry, now by Reyna's side, a reddish-gold glow developed. Ares, in the form of a very tall, buff, and intimidating soldier, appeared. He was grinning, his lips slightly parted in the mad rush of violence and adrenalin. His eyes burned fiercely underneath the futile protection of Ray Bens wraparound sunglasses. His combat boots and bulletproof vest gleamed like polished jet. In his head, he imagined the battle playing out:

_The giants, unsuspecting, turn their corpulent backs toward the demigods. A sailing rock flies toward Gaea's enemies from the eastern side of the clearing, a sign to advance. The infantry in the west, near the coast, move forward, make remarkable progress in chopping down the befuddled giants. Blood, like sand carried on wind, splays out, tainting the faces of the demigods. They spit out the gunk, ignorant of its addictiveness, its attractiveness. Still they move forward, but they falter as the giants retaliate. Without the rage of the god of war, their motivation is one grade too weak. A rock moves elegantly across the clearing from the bowl of a catapult, another signal, and the cavalry beside the god races ahead, golden balls of light dissipating beside them as his divine family arrives. The giants spot the army's blend of divine and mortal, but not before huge chunks of their flanks are compromised. Finally gaining their senses, the giants closest to the cavalry retreat, pushing the rest of their numbers right into a now well-rested demigod infantry._


	37. Chapter 37

37 Annabeth

Annabeth was mounted on a particularly grumpy Pegasus. The creature bucked and rattled its rear end like it was singing along to the chicken song: "I don't wanna be a chicken, I don't wanna be a duck, so I shake my butt." Annabeth sighed and gave the half-horse a demigod-sized kick to its flank. The Pegasus barely even noticed.

Clarisse picked up a rock that could have passed as college student's physics book. Hauling it over her head, she dumped it into one of the two catapults the demigods had in their possession, whose twin was at the moment in the crowded cargo hold of the Argo II.

The intimidating girl, along with two other, Roman, demigods, set their hands onto a complex lever, poised to pull. One of the Roman demigods, an absurdly muscled son of Mercury, seemed nervous with the job. To calm his nerves- as well as hers- Annabeth forced the Pegasus into a decent trot and went over to the boy to explain the system of levers and pulleys.

By the time she was finished, the scout that had gone to find out if the giants were completely distracted in their game of 'Kill the UFO'- Unidentified Flying Object—in this case Reyna - had returned with good news. The giants were utterly unaware of the infantry moving into position behind them. At that point, the cavalry had managed to arrange themselves in their formations as well. They were ready to give the infantry its signal for attack: one rock, that said everything: _Attack the giants while they are preoccupied. When you lose control, signal us. We'll attack them, and as they will be with you, to the cavalry as well they will be surprised. We'll cut down their numbers from this side, then move inward, as will you. We meet in the middle of the valley, victorious._

Reyna gave the signal to fire, and with a loud crack, the catapult set a large rock flying into the opposing hill range. The yells and shouts coming from the giants' camping spot changed pitch, like a car changing gears, and the preliminary war was on.

Another scout was sent, and the information they received was slightly promising: "The infantry has taken out a great chunk of the giants' army. But earthborns are beginning to appear on the scene; the infantry will need help, the signal should come any minute now."

And was it coincidence or were the gods giving the demigods a last chance to smile at fate; Annabeth didn't know, but she saw the rock, she heard the rock, she practically felt the rock, as soon as the boy finished his sentence. She tapped the horse on its side and thought gratefully as it sprinted out of hiding without an inkling of resistance to its rider, _Thank you, Tyche._

Annabeth careened around and between rocks, struggling to maintain control on the steep slope. But within just seconds, she was on the valley floor, pulling up her _javelin_ over her shoulder, perched to throw toward the tender, repulsing backbone of a particularly stupid giant. Despite the obvious drone of hoofs thudding on the ground behind it, the giant was still turned toward the other hillside, where the infantry's war cries could be heard. Slowing her Pegasus down slightly, Annabeth threw the_ javelin_ straight into the brute's spine, where a blatant crunch announced a successful puncture. Just before the giant fell to the ground- where its skull would split in half and reveal a pathetic, wrinkled and swollen little brain- Annabeth sped up to regain the spearwhose arrowhead was sticking out the creature's other side.

Her hands were a bloody, gooey mess, as was her spear, but she managed to wipe off the bits and pieces of gunk that had become stuck in the crevices of the woodwork. Here was a time when she regretted her extended knowledge; she knew exactly which organ had offered those bits of guts. _That there was a piece of colon, that tiny bit is a useless appendix, there's a gallbladder, a bit of the pancreas, the bile duct, and one punctured duodenum. _

She carried on, kicking her Pegasus into flight, swooping down every now and then to mercilessly cut off the giants' heads, trying not to pay too close attention to the grotesque way their eyes rolled back sluggishly, the direction in which the blood spewed. Every kill was just another swipe of her _gladius, _her _xiphos._


	38. Chapter 38

38 Leo

Leo had never been in a battle field so large, though the size of the giants did make the whole place seem a lot valley was creaking with the ever present clashes of metal on metal, as well as the squelches of metal on flesh. The airy, bazaar-like atmosphere the giants had been settled in just minutes before was replaced with the crashing thunders of war. Leo imagined how he would manage the battle of Rome when his ears were already thrumming painfully under the cacophony of noises.

Despite that minor pain though, as well as the many wounds he was obtaining, Leo was smiling manically. In his head, a dramatic harmony was playing and in an act of boredom, he'd dared himself to make every strike from his blade fall in beat with the music. _Yes, boredom, while amidst a crowd of bloodthirsty giants. _

_Slash, strike, lunge, block- _all in rhythm with a difficult beat. _Apollo would be proud_, he thought to himself.

At precisely that moment, a golden ball of light appeared at his right. Leo frowned at it- _What was that- a disco ball? What was that disco ball doing floating over giants? _

That _disco ball_, though, turned out to be Apollo. As his form appeared beside Leo, a voice, a particularly harmonious, sing-a-long voice, popped into the demigod's head. _You know, I would have complimented you on your rhythm-keeping skills, but you've insulted me- twice."_

Leo had stop himself from thinking 'drama queen!'. After crashing his _xiphos _into an unsuspecting earthborn with a bounce to his feet, he stopped, slid his bloody sword along the length of his fustanella- a present from one of the girls in the Aphrodite cabin- and shacked it in its sheath. Some passing demigods gave him incredulous looks and yelled at him; their horses snorted as if they found the whole situation amusing. Yet Leo stood his ground.

Looking at Apollo and placing his gritty, rough hands on his hips, he asked the figure: "All right, what did I do?"

Apollo looked a bit exasperated at the demigod's show- stopping to chat in the middle of a field! But he quickly regained his composure, and adding a little flare to his fiery blonde hair, he replied, "Well, I'm not going to appreciate that you considered me a disco ball- I'm no ornament of partying, don't degrade me to Dionysus's area of power!" Immediately, a grape vine sprang out of the earth and curled menacingly around Apollo's ankle. The god merely blinked and a lyre revealed itself from the folds of his robes to strangle to the vine in holds of its strings. Even in the midst of battles, the gods had the time for family feuds.

Leo wasn't sure if he was imagining the whole scenario- it seemed a little cartoonish. He didn't have time to decide on his sanity though, as Apollo snapped his fingers in catchy beat and his attention was again in divine hands.

"Neither did I appreciate that you compared me to an ornament that shined silver- that is obviously not my color! Tarnishable it is, that poor grade of metal, I pity my sister for she is forever to wear it! And-," here Apollo took a second's pause to dust off his blindingly white robe, "I most certainly did not like that you have so rudely, so arrogantly stopped fighting this crucial war to discuss my emotions! Trying to degrade me to your pathetic human species, are you? Well, I'll show you!"

Apollo raised his hand over his as if to slap the boy, and Leo cowered and pinched his eyes shut. When curiosity on the delay of the blow tempted him to open his eyes, Apollo was casually pulling out a rather ancient looking scroll of papyrus. On it, cherry blossoms were painted faintly.

_Oh no, _thought Leo. _Not one of his notorious haikus! _ **(Oh yes, Leo. His notorious haikus indeed!)**

Clearing his throat, Apollo sang in a lucid, sinuous voice:

"In the midst of war,

Leo dares to anger me,

So I sunburn him!"

A sizzling ray of sunlight withdrew itself from Apollo's fiery hair and flew towards the rigid demigod. At that moment though, a giant had finally found the wits to attack its empty handed enemy, a son of Hephaestus who had the courage, or rather, the foolish bravado, to replace his sword and put down his shield, right smack in the middle of war. And to do what? Chat!

The giant lunged toward the demigod like an obese goalkeeper diving for a save. The spark embedded itself onto the bare back of the giant, and grew into a disgusting, molten, swollen, brewing, sweltering, bubbling, and sizzling pile of flesh and guts.

Leo got up, shook off the sordid mess and grumbled, "I get pinned down by a putrid thing, then he melts, _melts, _on me! I'd rather have been sunburned!"

He drew out his sword and mounted his Pegasus once more, then continued to hack his way through tangle of creatures.

As made his back to the right flank, where his Vulcan friends were waiting, he passed a sight that would affect his performance throughout the remainder of the raucous battle. A girl- he could tell by the contours of the armor and the fringe of hair that had slithered out of her helmet- was lying on the grimy floor of the valley, her leg a shattered mess, face distorted in agony; she was dragging herself back to the hillside, but her leg was hindering the process.

Leo pulled harshly on the reins of the Pegasus, turning it sharply to the right, where the girl lay. She spotted him, and her eyes, outline by the brilliant shine of a golden helmet, one marked by the crimson crest of high rank, widened.

That tiny reaction was the only warning Leo got before he was blown clear off the ground, towards the right flank he'd been heading for in the first place. His poor Pegasus didn't survive the blow from maniac giant, as it took the brunt of the blow and saved Leo from a crushing death.

Leo stood up and looked around, but the girl was now lost in a sea of giants, demigods, and gods. Now, all he could do was hope that there was more than one dark eyed, black haired girl in the Twelfth Legion Fulminata…


	39. Chapter 39

**Okay, it's 11:30, but still "tomorrow evening" by my standards. So to those of you who I promised an update, here it is!**

39 Percy

News was travelling to Percy and his fellow soldiers fast; the children of Hermes had organized a messaging system of those who were too wounded to fight but still strong enough to run. This group was made mostly of warriors who'd become wounded in their upper bodies, but also consisted of a few children of Aphrodite who were desperately insisting that they were unfit for battle and that running to and fro from opposite flanks was the more suitable- not to mention less taxing- job.

These messengers, who were quickly doomed with the nickname "Running Slackers", or RS's, did their best to avoid close combat as they shouted out the ever-changing positions and maneuvers of the cavalries and infantries in Greek, Latin, and, more often than not, in swiftly spoken English, which confused the earthborns and giants alike.

"Cavalry has established contact with the gods! Cavalry moving in toward infantry with surprising speed! Expect war to end soon! _New: _Gods will transfer to infantry as cavalry and infantry surround opposing army!" was the first shout that reached Percy's ears. In her clear voice, the RS shouted once more, "I repeat: Cavalry has established…."

Her voice faded away in the thunderous din that began to cloud Percy's head. As he drove into the giants around him, sinking them in a potent shower of sea water throughout, a sizzling spark of bluish white zapped away the lives of even more brutes. Without turning, he knew Zeus was behind him; his hairs were sticking on end like those of a startled cat.

Percy jumped as a flash of the lethal stuff zipped dangerously close to his neck. Zeus's hearty laughter momentarily deafened the demigod.

"Let me live through at least this first battle!" Percy shouted out indignantly, trying to hide the anger that was boiling daringly into his words- he literally had to bite his tongue.

_I know Annabeth told me to work with this guy, but that's just not going to happen, _Percy thought decisively. Then Zeus's voice was in his stormy mind: _Be careful what you think mortal, these bolts are familiar with handling mischievous demigods. _

Percy stopped thinking altogether and surrendered to his instincts; he sliced and tore through the flesh of the giants. Most of them were easy pickings, but some had a rare wit or skill. Most of them were 9 feet tall, large but easy to handle with the training Percy had received at Camp Half-Blood, but some soared to over 11 feet. Most of them seemed reluctant to fight unless fighting for their lives, but some had hidden motivations.

The giant that was now charging at Percy's way had all the latter traits; it was witty, skilled, towering, and had a lust to see the demigod dead at his feet, blood spilling from his mouth and head crushed into little, tiny bits.

That at least, Percy could see the creature's eyes alone. With a rush of adrenaline, and a silent prayer to Tyche, he raised himself onto a nearby rock. It only granted him another foot of height, and he'd inevitably have to remove himself from it as the goings got tougher, but it was an advantage he would have, as well as a boost to his suffering ego.

The creature came at striking distance and simply looked down at Percy, and then it started to giggle. Percy kept his poker face on and carefully watched the giant, waiting for the right opportunity to arrive on the horizon.

It came, when at last, the giant roared a guttural laugh and threw its head back, completely amused, leaving his maw and neck naked and exposed. Percy thought: _Well, maybe the smarts I saw in him were just imagination. _

Percy called on the water that was behind him in a shimmering trail. It was like an umbilical cord, it fed him power, kept him strong. A massive spray of sea water raised him to the giant's height in less than a heartbeat's length. He mirthlessly dug Riptide into his neck, pulled it out, then threw it into the creature's maw forcefully.

The thing dissolved into a glittery sparkle of dust. Percy let the water fall, and looked around. The numbers of the giants were slowing withering, but they'd had their toll; he was now standing bent with his hands on his knees, wondering how in the world Zeus was keeping up his zaps.

He'd probably killed over 30 giants in the few minutes he'd been there. The god held out his master bolt like some stop sign that traffic police carry. Electricity arched to find its next victim, and blue power traveled from the rod to two sides- the earthborn he was currently frying and Zeus himself. Percy remembered a bit of his physics class back in Manhattan and it all began to make sense.

Electricity would travel from the bolt to both the earthborn and Zeus- that was how the world worked, that was physics. The bolt would obviously succeed in making the creature toast, or to be more specific, charred, blackened, burned toast. Zeus on the other hand, being immune to electricity, would not be affect. Quite the contrary; the electricity fed him power, just like Percy's "umbilical cord".

Percy didn't have much more time to contemplate Zeus's stamina in battle though, as the glittery dust was reforming and he was again face to face with the insistent little brat of a giant. _Okay, BIG brat of a giant. _The creature was coming back to life like a respawn in a video game.

Percy lifted his hands from his knees, trying to pretend the charge of adrenaline was still running through his body. But it wasn't, it had fled to some deserted region of his consciousness. The demigod lifted his hand and threw a steady flow of seawater at the thing, for the time being, that was all he could manage.

_All I need is a 60 second break, is that too much to ask _Percy thought to himself warily. All his attack did though was irritate the brutes eyes.

Then a bolt a lightning came the creature's way, but it passed through Percy's current of seawater, and salt water being an amazing conductor, sped up faster than man running from his wife's shopping bill. The giant dropped dead to the floor and saw its last ever sunset.

_Wait till Annabeth here's about- _Percy stopped. He sighed. _I long for the day when I'll tell that girl something she doesn't already know. _


	40. Chapter 40

Please excuse my grammar, spelling, and overall conventions in this chapter. I'm kinda lazy today...not much of an excuse, but hey, its summer, its hot, my AC's bust, so I'm tired. But I did have the energy for a two part chapter, so here it is. It

40

Part I: Annabeth

The battle was finally over. But there was much worse to come. So Annabeth began organizing, planning, strategizing.

_Okay, we've lost an eighth of our army, by death or injury. We need to make up for that loss with cunning and smarts. I also need to scold some of the army for not following orders. That includes Leo, Octavian, Clarisse, Miranda, Piper, Reyna and- what! Reyna?_

The scroll in front of her- compliments from her ever-helpful mother- listed all the naughty demigods whose careless actions or absences had caused harm to the army as a whole. _But Reyna?_ Annabeth trailed her finger along the praetor's name and read on:

_Name: Position/Rank : _

_Reyna (Praetor 1) _

_Fault;Consequence:_

_Missing in action at cavalry frontline; Loss of leadership, Indirect cause of 5 deaths and 17 injuries before control was reestablished_

Annabeth stood up from her table on the Argo II_._ They'd being leaving for Rome, the Capitoline Hill to be exact and any minute now. _How had the Praetor slipped past all our minds?_

Running with a look that would have made even the fiercest of monsters cower, she flew out of her room and dashed in the infirmary on board. She wasn't on any of the first row of beds. The narrow space between the beds was blocked by a child of Apollo. She flung her legs over the wooden backboard of a bed and raced on to check the other beds. _No. No! NO!_

She flew out the room, her figure now being followed by the pissed off healer. She got to the door, and slammed right into Leo, who was holding a figure in his arms.

"L-Leo- the infirmary, I checked- but Reyna- she- she's not-" Annabeth stuttered. The girl was appalled at herself; it wasn't like her to panic, no matter the situation. But she'd grown fond to the praetor and furthermore, the Roman army would not welcome the sight of another Greek demigod leading their army.

"Annabeth, move it." Leo said curtly. He pushed past the demigod and gently laid the injured person on the bed. For the first time, Annabeth look at the wounded demigod- his golden helmet, the vermilion crest. It was one of a praetor. _Percy? _She thought, now even more panicked. But just then, the helmet slipped off and revealed dark, glossy hair. _Her helme, not his, _ Annabeth thought, correcting herself, as she flew to the bedside. After receiving another disapproving glance from the healer, she was beside Reyna.

"What's wrong with her?" Annabeth asked, gesturing to the reluctant healer to come and help the praetor.

"She's completely shattered her leg, ripped some tendons as well, I think," Leo replied grimly. "Her right shoulder's also bust."

"Good gods." Annabeth whispered quietly, but she regaining her composure all the same. She began to stand up from her crouched position. Leo on the other hand, huffed out a puff of air and collapsed onto the wooden floor.

As healer began applying wet towels onto Reyna's shoulder, Annabeth scrutinized Leo.

"Leo, this is not the right time, but then again, it never is, so let me ask you: What made you think that disobeying clear orders to take the Agro to Rome was a good idea?"

"It _really_ isn't the right time," he replied, angrily.

"C'mon Leo, don't make me do this to you, just answer the question," Annabeth insisted, placing her hands on her hips.

"If you'd lost your dad to Gaea, you'd jump at every chance to get her, Annabeth." Leo replied coolly, his anger lost in a blank expression.

Annabeth felt a thorn of guilt embed itself in her heart, and bent down to the demigod. "We're your family now Leo. But we'll get Gaea, I promise, and you'll be there to watch it happen. No, you'll be there to do it. I promise. And… I'm sorry."

Part II: Leo

Leo wasn't having a good day. He wasn't particularly close to Reyna, but sitting beside her bed in the infirmary, he felt he was doing some good.

He sat there for an a hour or two- by then the ship was moving, Percy had happily taken over as captain- before Reyna stirred. The healer was at the very far side of the room, far from earshot, and looking lost deep in her work.

Reyna blinked twice, and look at Leo. "Who are you?" she muttered.

"Holy-" Leo began to say.

Reyna broke out into a tired fit of laughter. Leo looked at her angrily. "What? A praetor can't have a laugh?"

"Did you hit your head on the field as well?" Leo asked her seriously, slightly confused at the praetor's sudden sense of humor.

"Probably," Reyna replied nodding her head- but she moved her right shoulder in the process. Her mouth formed into an O to scream, but she stopped herself.

"There's no one here to see you like this Reyna, just scream." Leo comforted her, completely aware of what the praetor was feeling. _If somebody sees her like this, she'll feel weak and inferior, just like me, my fatal flaw. _

Reyna though, simply grunted as a "no way." The healer, now looking over, came toward the bed with a wet towel, slipped out the old one underneath Reyna's shoulder, and pushed the new one in.

Reyna shivered slightly, despite the fact that there were two layers of clothes between her skin and the towel. "Don't have a hot towel?" she asked.

"No, Praetor, the boiler in the wash room has been compromised by one of the earthborns. Of all the thinks it could have wrecked, it took out the bathroom," the healer replied. Then the girl returned to gathering towels and feeding other patients nectar.

"I can heat up the towel if you want." Leo offered. When she nodded, Leo placed his hands on soaking cloth and try to warm it, but failed; it was just too wet. When he finally got a spark to light on to the cloth, it began to burn furiously, until it a was a pile of black ash at his feet.

He looked at Reyna, almost about to laugh, then saw her closed eyes and managed to muffle it into a snicker. He took her back in one hand and as he lifted her slightly off the bed, slipped his right hand under her shoulder. Carefully letting warmth seep into his palm, he searched the girl's face.

"Oh good, that towel feels great." Then Reyna opened her eyes and saw his hand and yelped, "What are you doing? You'll burn me alive!"

"Have some faith, Praetor. I'll set the bed on fire before you burn, and by then, the healer would have noticed. She'll get you out of my mess."

Reyna frowned, looking uncomfortably at the arm which led to her shoulder. "I'm not too eager about this…"

She was already asleep. Leo waited few minutes just to make sure before he slipped his hand out and went on deck; they'd reached Rome. The real war was about to begin. But he was afraid now; he didn't want to face Gaea like Annabeth had promised he would. In his heart, he still remembered that the flame that engulfed his mother had been from his hands, not Gaea's. And there was no doubt that Gaea wouldn't be shy to use that to her advantage.

He looked went to stand beside Percy, and looked out beyond the rail. _Who in Zeus's name is that? _he wondered. He asked as much to Percy, pointing to the figure swimming ahead of the ship, toward a hill lined with bristling spears mounted on giants.

"That's Piper. She wants to make friends with our enemy." Percy said, a little bitterly.

"How she convince you-"

Percy looked at Leo with an expression that read, _I asked myself the same question. _


	41. Chapter 41

**I have for you today, quite a long A/N. First up, the bad news: I'll be away for the next few days, from 27th June to 2nd/3rd July, on vacation. Next up, information and questions on my updating schedule and chapters. In case you didn't already get this from my "bad news" section, I won't be able to post chapters these upcoming seven days, but please bare with me and don't quit on this story! I'm not sure on whether I will be able to update tomorrow, and most-likely will not, rather I will spend any time refining the next chapter which holds the clima- nah, I won't tell ya! *Cue the evil laugh* Now, questions…does my schedule (updating every one or two days) annoy you or satisfy you? Are my chapters decent in grammar and spelling and all the crap teachers care about and are they long enough, interesting enough? Please answer these questions, help me improve, I'll need all the advice I can get for chapter 42 which I'll post on 2nd/3rd/4th July! So, for the time being, good bye, and thanks for all your help to my most supportive readers: , Athena Grl, and Trustinghim17 :D You guys are awesome, as well as the other 230 of you how read my chapters! **

41 Frank

They were back on the battlefield and there was trouble. Frank was doing his best to fend off the monsters, but even with all the children of Mars/Ares, Percy, Athena, and Zeus by his side, they weren't doing well.

There was one demigod who held all the blame, one demigod who was letting down the whole army, one demigod who looked as stable as a drunken orangutan on stilts. Who was it? None other than the son of Neptune, Perseus Jackson.

Frank had started out fighting fairly well, with the upper hand even, among the mob of giants and earthborns and the occasional Titan. Percy on the other hand, was barely managing keeping himself alive.

_He didn't look so good on Argo II's deck, either. _Frank though, looking at Percy concernedly though in reality he was pushing back his disappointment. _Percy who had saved them so many times on their quest to free Thanatos, Percy who'd made a bet on his own life with Phineas, Percy who'd apparently met Kronos- is this the Percy that's standing in front of me now? _ Frank thought to himself, annoyed, as he went out of his way to leap and cross blades against a giant who'd just been about to throw his sword into Percy's bobbing head.

Frank looked at his friend, who was unbelievably out of character. He was just about to call out Zeus's name when he changed his mind. If anyone would be able to figure out what was bothering Percy, it would be Athena. And since Annabeth was his girlfriend, there was probably a special place in the Goddess's heart for a boy who would undoubtedly become her future son-in-law.

Frank had no idea how wrong he was. Racking his mind for a memory of a trip to the zoo as a child, he dropped his weapons, and let his shield pin Percy down to the ground before he changed form- into a Rhinoceros

Percy's head peaked out behind red-and-gold protection of the Roman shield and mumbled, "Dude, what was that for? I don't a bodyguard."

If Frank could have talked, he would have said, "You're right, you need a nanny." Instead, the demigod-er, giant herbivore- thundered in the direction of Athena. He nudged the Goddess's leg like an affectionate cat. She turned around, and raised her eyebrows.

Frank bobbed his head up and down, trying to convey, _I can't speak!_

Athena rolled her intense grey eyes and replied, "You can point can't you?"

Frank tried to hide his surprise at her reading his mind- _Are those her super powers coming to play or am I that predictable? _he wondered

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he wagged his nose and horn in Percy's general direction.

Athena studied the demigod for a half second then- as she crushed a giant in her palm's death grip- shrugged and replied indifferently, "Get my daughter. She'd do a better job taking care of that boy. And take care- I'm trusting you with the responsibility of keeping them safe- the boy is reckless, and my daughter likewise when around him, hopefully, you'll be able to keep your wits about you. If danger befalls Annabeth, I will be more than disappointed in you…" There was a hint of danger in the Goddess's level voice.

As Frank thundered back to Percy to look for Annabeth, his frenzied thoughts raced; _How can she just ignore an injured demigod like that? And, Percy, Annabeth's boyfriend for Pete's sake! _Unfamiliar with the disagreements between Poseidon and Athena, Frank was completely puzzled.

He walked around for a few minutes around Percy, scanning the wave-like movement of the army for a blonde head, but did not succeed. He was reluctant to move from Percy's side more than he already had. So he went to plan B.

Kick aside the shield with his knee-less, stocky leg, he let it fall gently onto Percy's left arm. The demigod screamed out in pain. _That was supposed to be gentle..._he thought guiltily. He tried again, and gained the sought out result- a cry of Annabeth's name, as well as a few other coarse words to filthy to mention.

In a matter of seconds, Annabeth was by Frank's side, looking down at the still-screaming Percy with eyes widened by absolute worry. She slapped away Frank leg, and crouched by her friend's side.

Frank changed back into his human form, occasionally altering into more familiar animals when the opportunity called for it. He kept a good guard over the pair, remembering how Percy had protected him as he'd freed Thanatos with the charred stick that was his lifeline.

He didn't have much time to concentrate on the situation behind him, but he did hear four words, said quietly in a heartbroken sob-

"How could you, Mother?"


	42. Chapter 42

**I'm back in the Balkans, and to the wonderful internet! :) Here's chapter 42, as promised, on June 4th! ( Happy Independence Day Americans :) ) To the rest of us, have a nice day ;)**

42

Part I: Annabeth

Her heart was pounding like a drum set under The Beatles' skilled drummer, "Ringo." _He could die, Athena, he could die! How could you? _Her anger was so powerful, bubbling over her every breath like an erupting volcano that she was calling her mother by her name, and that, with bitterness rolling over each syllable.

She would not lose her beloved friend again, not after the months she'd spent in agony over his disappearance. But this was worse, when before she'd known nothing more than her emotions, here she could see his pain, understand what was wrong, and comprehend the fact that if she saved him, the fate of the world would be changing hands- from the three white robed old ladies with their balls of yarn, to Gaea, the evil mother earth who was even more wicked than Annabeth's own cruel parent.

She opened her eyes, and looked back down at Percy, took in the whole of him, creating a memory. That boy, with his ruffled hair, which rippled in the chaotic wind like water itself. That boy, with his crooked smile, who now lay as still as the dead. That boy, who'd, had the courage to take away the life of her Luke in an attempt to save the world. That boy, with his sea green eyes as deep as the oceans themselves, which were now as shallow as her mother's heart.

Annabeth swallowed and began to undo Percy's cast, using all her strength, will, and demigod power. Under her hands, it began to crumble, as if she was Athena herself. She grimaced in utter disgust, how could she have ever been born from that goddess's mind?

The evil, wicked, heartless, inhuman creature who'd planned the struggle down to the very detail of Percy's death. Golden liquid was trickling from underneath the cast, which was beginning to resist her tugs. The smell itself said enough, but she needed to be sure. Annabeth bent down, ceased her pulls and put her trembling head to Percy's arm. The golden, honey like substance touched her mouth and she tasted it- nectar, ambrosia's liquid counterpart.

Muffling a whimper into his solid arm, she pulled apart the cast. The last golden-olive strip crumbled and Annabeth was appalled at the nausea that was building up inside her. His skin was a sore red shade, turning into a charred black as it neared the center of where the cast had been. Then, like a crater in the middle of a blackened volcano, a hole appeared in his arm, yellow, bubbling with pus, and utterly sickening. Her hatred was melting to shock. She did _not_ feel composed, and she was far off from feeling like the daughter of wisdom. She felt vulnerably human.

Her eyes followed the damage; as some of the tawny liquid trickled off onto the ground, she got a glimpse of Percy's bone. Quickly switching her focus, she made out a vein underneath Percy's skin. It was honey-gold, and would have been impossible to spot if it weren't for her boyfriend's reddened surface.

Tearing off his armor, ripping his shirt to shreds, she followed the vein to his chest. Here, the vein was blue, as it should be. But the nectar was pushing through, toward his heart.

She remembered clearly in her head, Chiron's voice, when she'd been new to Camp Half-Blood.

"_These here are ambrosia squares. Ambrosia and nectar are the foods of the gods. If a human ate this, he would die, undoubtedly. But demigods may use it to heal themselves. Be careful though, however good they taste, eat too much and you as well will die. You're only half god after all…"_

And now, Percy, trusting her advice- _"That's Athena's blessing. It's supposed to protect you…That owl over though, insists that it's supposed to protect the camp from any harm you could bring…"- _ was dying.

Fueled by a nameless emotion, she pushed herself hard, down onto the yellowing vein.

_If I manage to stop blood circulation, the nectar won't reach his heart; he might live. That wretched cast has been feeding him nectar, but only a bit by bit. That's why he was doing great before, because then the small amount of nectar could only heal him, but now…_

_If I were Athena, I wouldn't have needed to kill any demigod to win. I would have found a way, I would have…_Annabeth shook her head, realizing her fatal flaw, hubris, was tainting her thoughts.

_But now, the cast that's been protecting Percy's mind is gone. Why didn't I realize before? Gaea's just been idle, when she'd obviously proven that she was capable of reading our minds while we are on ground- like those times at Camp Jupiter. Why didn't I wonder why she hadn't searched our minds for our plans? Why didn't I…_

_Percy, he always paid so much attention to everything I said. When Gaea couldn't break through my mind, she would have looked toward Percy- he'd have remembered my words by heart. And now, Seaweed Brain…_

Her head stung suddenly; her mother's voice was in her head.

_You're quick Annabeth. The cast _does _indeed protect Percy's mind, as well as the minds of those around him, from Gaea's reach. Our plans would remain secret while those strips of cloth, woven under the hands of a goddess who has power over minds, were kept fastened to a live demigod._

_Quick? Quick! That's what you're thinking of when he's dying? You cruel-_

_Hold your tongue, stupid girl. It may be even quicker than your mind._

_Save him! What was the need for all this? What was the need for the nectar? A blessing from you would have been bad enough for a son of Poseidon, but you-!_

_The nectar kept him alive, therefore kept my blessing of protection strong. It was necessary. But I never had a_ wish_ to kill Poseidon's son. I do not lie when I tell you that I saw death as a possibility, but he may still live, granted you find a way… Whatever the case, his survival is no longer a key role; our side has gotten the control we need, it's now just a matter of time before Gaea loses this Battle of Rome. Even if she insists on fighting hard and racking your minds for answers, it will have been too late. But do not weep, daughter. Wisdom grants the power of sight while Love is blind. I'd rather you'd be able to see…_

Annabeth fell to the ground, her energy drained, hope lost. _I'll just kill myself. We'll meet in Elysium, and we'll live happily ever aft…_ Annabeth closed her eyes.

Part II: Frank

He'd heard _everything_. And he wasn't just going to stand there.


	43. Chapter 43

**What if I told you that at the end of this book... got ya! :) Like I'd give out spoilers! Tsk, tsk, should of known better. Review please! And a favor to ask: click the review button and type "m" if you are a guy and "f" if you are a girl. Just wondering what the male/female ratio of my readers is. I'm too lazy to make a poll. Here's chapter 43, chicos and chicas!  
**

43 Frank

Frank had had a hard enough time keeping Annabeth and Percy safe from the countless giants and earthborns that'd come their way. But now, even with his shape-shifting powers, it was near impossible.

He'd been bringing down a giant, thrusting his sword into its heart, then, turning into a grizzly, he'd picked it up- or rather, dragged it- to Athena's feet before it could disintegrate. The goddess thereafter crushed it under her elegant, but deadly heel.

But then voices were popping into his head.

_Annabeth's voice if my guess is correct. _

He managed to glance back at Annabeth, but she wasn't speaking, only ripping apart the cast that had been on Percy's arm ever since his trip to his mother's place.

_Strange… _he thought. _Maybe the gods are doing this. It must be important._

So he was listening carefully, occasionally hearing Athena's voice as well.

…

Frank didn't have time to think. He stopped mid-lunge, and dropped his sword, ran to Annabeth's side. She lying face down, a foot, 30 centimeters, away from Percy, in a little ball.

Frank allowed himself one glance at Percy's skin, yellowing like a sick man's underneath a film of sweat, before he kneeled before the girl.

Roughly pulling her up by the arm, he got her to her feet. Her legs stood straight and strong, but her knees slanted inward still, as if they would buckle like a pair scissors any moment.

"Annabeth! Don't just stand there! Percy's about to die, and you're just going to lay down beside him? Is that a way to act! C'mon, think!"

Frank's strong, reprimanding voice seemed to bring some life back into Annabeth. Her response was a weak, "But, Frank, don't you see, it's too la-"

Frank looked at her eyes, and got a flashback:

_He'd been walking on the sidewalk on the way to the grocery store when he passed a man, a drunken one, lying on the filthy cement. A police officer was walking toward him, with subdued exasperation in the creases of his forehead. He kicked the drunken man, but his victim wouldn't budge. Seven half-gentle jabs in the gut and many a scolding word later, the policeman went for a new tactic. Frank had almost been about to round the corner when he saw the police officer slap the drunkard across his face, twice. Then he saw his reddened eyes snap open with life- and anger- and decided suddenly that maybe staying in that neighborhood for too long wasn't a good idea._

Frank stared dully at Annabeth. _I guess she could use a slap or two… _he thought shyly.

He cowered at the last moment, fast enough to not hit the demigod hard, but too late to withdraw his palm completely.

Either way, he slapped her, and Annabeth's eyes widened. Those grey eyes began to look brown as their surroundings turned red with anger.

"What are you slapping _me_ for? This isn't MY fault! Not really! Go slap my mother! She's the one who-"

At this point, Frank was about as frightened as a 12th grader waiting for his exam results to come out. He was pretty scared.

_She gets even angrier than that Clarisse. No wonder Percy seems a bit slow sometimes- being her boyfriend seems like a fulltime job, anyone would be tired…_

"-and now you're slapping me? How dare you? I thought Percy-!" she paused and looked Frank over from his forehead to chin, scrutinizing his expression. "You're not listening to me are you! ?"

When Frank didn't reply immediately, Annabeth snapped, "Well?"

"Uhh..I..well-"

"Nevermind! Go find Apollo!"

She turned on her heel and began thirty presses on Percy's chest- standard CPR.

Frank looked out into the distance, hesitant to leave Percy- he'd been his friend as well... His eyes widened.

"Uh, Annabeth, I think we should mo-"

"Just go already! Don't you want him to live? Find Apollo and- a-" Annabeth's composure was dying with her anger, but that wasn't what bothered Frank.

"Annabeth, run!" The girl didn't move, simply turned and looked at Frank worriedly, but defiantly.

"Why? I can't…Percy…" she trailed off.

There was no time for explanations; Frank felt his body ripple like water as he changed form into an elephant, Hannibal's twin. He charged ahead, curving around Annabeth, and let the bulk of him face the threat that was coming their way, protecting the two demigods behind him- one near dead, the other in shock.

He turned his great, big head to Annabeth just in time to see her expression. He lifted his trunk to say "I told you so"- _if only she'd moved like I'd told her to_ – but whatever happened next, Annabeth didn't get the message.

His first syllable was simply a trumpet call, and his second was a gurgle underneath the tsunami that had enveloped him. He was going to die at the hands of his great-great-great-great-great-great-great-…. grandfather. Poseidon.


	44. Chapter 44

44 Percy

While Percy's body was mute and stiff, his mind was dynamic and frenzied- Gaea was in his head.

His eyes were half closed and his eyelashes blocked his view like veil but he recognized Annabeth, standing over him, grey eyes as intense as ever.

Despite the fact that he was paralyzed-Gaea had kindly decided that Percy had the right to keep his nerve cells- he could feel his body, and it wasn't exactly in 'tiptop condition'. His torso and limbs were, in general, sore and burning, and his left arm felt about as useful as a toothpick while it resembled the inside of a pomegranate. Reddish-pink, fleshy and soft.

He had no idea what was happening to his body, and his prediction was simple, if not cliché- someone had fed him poison. Or rather, someone had injected poison into his left arm, and the venom was slithering through his veins, making its way to his heart. That would explain the fact that Percy felt a searing hot line leading from that limb to his chest, so torrid underneath his sickly skin that the intruding substance might as well have been exsiccating his blood.

His attention shifted slowly from his damaged body to the voice in his head. It was familiar; he'd last heard it at the door of his apartment. It was husky now, weaker than it had been before. Percy hoped that the war had gone on long enough for the gods to win. _I won't be able to hold her for long._ He reflected clearly, just in case a god was tuning into his thoughts.

_You know Percy, you never did listen to those warnings. _Gaea was saying in a rasping voice.

_What warnings? _Percy thought back. In his head, he was pulling up random memories to form a sort of firewall to protect the memory of Annabeth's battle plans, and his weaknesses.

_Warnings on your fatal flaw, of course. Athena has cautioned you enough, and you've faced its dangers many times. If I didn't know better, I'd call you stupid._

_Ignorant is a kinder word. _Percy grumbled back silently.

Gaea's laughter was thick and tough, like dull piece of undercooked meat. It filled the crevices of Percy's mind, expanding to push against his 'firewall'.

_No, no, you're not _ignorant_ at all. You simply stick by your friends and loved ones. Nothing wrong with that…But I couldn't just kill one of your friends now could I? If I blackmailed you _that _way, certainly the rest would figure out. No, no, that wouldn't work at all…_

Percy struggled as the goddess searched his mind for an advantage that would turn the tables, give the giants the upper hand. As she began to attack his mind, his thoughts fell and shattered, and he remembered an old idiom his English teacher had used to describe his class: bulls in a china shop. _Sure isn't funny now._

The broken demigod could see his 'wall' falling apart before him, as Gaea took it down one memory at a time, looking it over before she threw it back, and moved onto the next precious piece.

Percy wished he could close his eyes- seeing Annabeth tearing up wasn't helping his concentration.

In a matter of seconds, the 'wall' was torn apart. His imagination supplied an image of the scene inside his head- photos on the battered floor of his mind, depicting all his memories. The place was even messier than his room.

At the far side, there were two pictures, both blurry. He began to realize- they were blurry because at the times of both memories, he'd been hurt and weakened.

One sheet showed Annabeth and the rest of the Romans and Greeks in a bubble, amidst lapis lazuli waters. In the shadows of the photo, there was text, in Percy's handwriting- his thoughts from that time.

Two green eyes peered from the darkness in his mind and found the photo. A jade, mossy arm extended from the void. Underneath the lichen and princess pine there was a constantly shifting mass of earth- mud and dirt and rock. Slender, feminine fingers picked up the photo, held it in the direction of the smoldering eyes, then flicked it away, into the mound behind it.

The eyes shifted focus- the second photo. This one was worn; bent at certain places, slightly faded- like it had been taken out and looked at many times.

The center of focus was his mother, her straight brown hair somewhat shrouding her face. There were a few stray gray strands. Beside her were Annabeth and Grover. The background was a complete blur, but the shading caught his eye and he recognized his apartment.

_Ahhhhhh… _Gaea dragged out. _Perfect…_

Percy felt his breath catch, and he could no longer breathe.

_Now Percy, don't get too excited. You can't die just yet._

Percy felt his torso burn. First the fire blazed underneath his stomach, then it crawled up, filling his lungs- he felt them started to wither and wilt, like a flower too far from Persephone's reach.

_That time at your home, I didn't go away empty-handed, you know. The last thought you had before you went unconscious stayed with me. _

Percy searched his mind for memories from that encounter. Finally, he found what he'd been looking for. His last thoughts before he'd gone unconscious.

_Percy blocked out her voice and opened up memories of past things, happy things. Meeting his father for the first time, how he'd hugged Percy on Mount Olympus. Annabeth's expression when he'd turned down immortality, the way he'd held her after the Siren's Island. The way the water made him feel, the faces of the spirits flickering in the beaches of his childhood. The trips he and his mother used to take._

Percy felt a weight press down on his chest again and again.

_The trips he and his mother used to take. _

Gaea's voice filled his mind one last time, slow and emphasizing:

_Choose Perseus Jackson. Will you save the gods their thrones on Mount Olympus and bring about the death of your own mother _or_ will you help me steal Zeus's throne, and guarantee the safety of your only real family? _

Percy felt seawater rush underneath him. His connection to the ground was severed.


	45. Chapter 45

**Hey :) Sorry I haven't posted in so long! The delay is a result of a lot of a lot of technical problems, writer's block, and yes, I'll admit, laziness. But hey, everyone procrastinates, right? Right! Ok, here is, at last, the next chapter in my MoA :) Don't forget to review!**

45

The Underworld was a dark, barren place.

Luke's younger sister, Leia wasn't too surprised that she'd ended up where she'd ended up. Before a demigod went into battle, they should feel ready, confident, and loyal to their army. But she hadn't been confident in anything since she'd found out that she had a brother. _Used to have, _she corrected herself.

She hadn't been ready, either, because she'd been doubting her loyalty to the gods._ If they could hide the fact that I'd lost a brother I'd never known, what else they could hide?_ She wondered.

She ran her slender fingers up and down the bridge of her nose, strangely content. She was dead, but decided to look at the brighter side: _.

_Fill in the blank, _she told herself, sternly. _It can't all be gloomy- being dead. And if I make it to Elys-_

She looked up, as Charon, the Underworld's personal ferryman, got off the creaky boat. They'd been moving ahead at a steady pace when Charon had suddenly stopped rowing, and swiftly turned the boat toward the shore, or rather, the mounds of bones and skulls that lined the currents.

"This isn't part of the routine, is it?" asked one of the other passengers, a willowy girl with long, curly blonde hair that reminded Leia of Annabeth.

"No." Charon answered shortly, nonetheless walking inland.

The girl began to protest again, but Leia nudged her- ineffectively, as they were spirits now-and told her to be quiet, pointing to the shore. There was a figure, one that would have been impossible to spot had it not been for the glimmery shine of his bronze armor, lying as good as dead on a mound of gem infested skulls. Leia stood up warily on the ever swaying floor of the boat, and craned her head, trying to get a peek of the boy- it was clearly a boy- and his face.

Charon finally reached the figure with his tiresome stride and half-shouted, "Hey, I know you! You're that kid that got me a raise!"

While the spirit's shout instantly captured the attention of the passengers on the other side of the shore, the boy did not stir.

Charon bent down and put his hand on the boy's heart. He stood up, shaking his head vigorously, as if he was struggling with a difficult math problem.

Leia, shaking off her peaceful attitude like it was an ill-fitting cloak, asked urgently, "What's wrong?"

The spirit, with his empty sockets, continued to gaze, troubled, at the boy. "His heart's not beating, but," Charon said, "he's not dead."

The ferryman regarded the boy once again with his empty sockets before he muttered, "I know who can help us."

Lifting his head high, he hollered- "NICO!"


	46. Chapter 46

**I am absolutely, utterly, heartfelt-ly sorry! I'm sure some of you write stories on FanFic as well, so you gotta understand that's its a bit of a struggle for me to update! :) I have two chapters up for you now, but again, really sorry! Please review though! :D**

46

Hazel

The war had been over for days now, and yet Hazel was still on edge. Gaea wouldn't come back for some time yet, so the demigods, Greeks and Romans alike, were taking their time on their way to Athens. Hazel agreed with Annabeth's suspicions that this second war would be worse than the last- much, much worse.

Hazel looked to Annabeth now, who was staring out the window of the train. Her face was scrunched up, and had been from the start of the day. Before, the poor demigod had seemed to be in shock, but a miracle of a change had occurred, for today, Athena's daughter looked as if she was taking after her mother- planning. For what or who, Hazel didn't know, but she hoped for Athena's wellbeing, as no one had been in good spirits about the goddess of wisdom since the disappearance- and possible death- of Percy Jackson.

_This can't be good for her,_ Hazel thought uneasily. She nudged Annabeth, and a slightly pale face whipped out from behind a veil of blonde hair.

"Hey."

Annabeth looked searchingly at Hazel, and despite being able to face monsters with faces as grotesque as Jabba the Hutt's, Hazel felt a need to recoil from those frightening grey eyes. Without withdrawing her stare, the girl replied with a strong voice, "Yeah?"

"Tell me about Nico- the Nico _you_ knew atleast. The Greek Nico."

Annabeth reluctantly shifted herself so she could face Hazel. "Well, at first, he was ten at the time I met him, he kind of stuck to himself. He was always in his own little world. But he was very curious, and asked a lot of questions. Then, his sister, passed away… and he changed. He left all the things that made him happy, and ran away. At times he's very brotherly, but… most the time he's- he's like the ideal son of a god of the Underworld- dark and gloomy, and grim."

Hazel maintained an interested expression though slowly losing interest in the description. Scanning Annabeth's face, she relaxed as she realized she'd succeeded in distracting her.

Too late, Hazel recognized that Annabeth had finished her description long ago and was looking at her like she'd caught a criminal.

"Well, not too different from the Nico I know." Hazel replied, trying to recover from her daydream. Casually, she smiled and said, "Thanks!"

Annabeth nodded slowly, as if she was having trouble buying the authenticity of the whole conversation before turning back to her window, face scrunching up again.

Hazel, peeking at the girl from the corner of her eye, quietly withdrew a sigh, trying not to make her frustration obvious, hiding it rather, with counterfeit exhaustion.

She felt a nudge at her side- Annabeth. The frightening grey orbs had turned laughing, and undoubtedly, triumphant. "Hey."

"Yeah?" Hazel asked, looking like a child who'd been caught stealing sugar.

"Believe it or not, planning my mother's doom is helping my mood. There's no need to try to distract me."

Hazel tilted her lips in good humor and asked, "Nothing gets by you, huh?"

"Nothing," Annabeth replied in a serious, matter-of-fact way.

The train halted to a stop. They dismounted.

Hazel, though slightly calmed by Annabeth's laughing manner, felt her eyes burrow. She stared at the ground- she felt something in its depths, something metallic, precious, drawing to her as if she was a magnet.

She took a step ahead. Another pull. A second step. A third pull. Hazel looked up. The rest of the demigods were moving dutifully toward the next platform, where the second train would be waiting. _They can wait, _she thought, and closed her eyes.

On the backs of her lids, there was the faded, amber glow of gold. She moved to the left, and darkness again filled her head. Another step, and again, a glow was filling a mind- this time with the colorful, fluorescent touch of opal.

Straining herself, she expanded her vision, reaching deep into her ability of ferrokinesis, and saw it, a string of gems and priceless materials. A trail.


	47. Chapter 47

47

Frank

Frank closed his eyes slowly, rolled them methodically across the backs of his eyelids. He let his head sag and fall into his open hands, back curving under an invisible weight.

He begged the voices in his head to stop, but they grew only louder, and louder, till they filled his heart and soul and mind. The others expected it; they all hid from Gaea's voice.

"_Poesidon's played quite a trick to save his son. He shall pay."_

_Those green eyes snapped viciously at him. He recoiled._

"_This would have worked better if Perseus had been here." _

_A pause. _

"_Maybe if I hadn't had your grandmother killed…" _

_Another merciful break._

"_But you, Frank, have no family, isn't that right?"_

_Silence._

"_No family except that war-crazed mad man."_

_No reply. _

"_But this will do. I'm quite certain- wai-i-i-i-t…"_

_Quiet._

"_Now that boy is deeper down into the earth, I can read your minds better…"_

_Frank growled low in his throat, and shouted into the depths of his mind- "What do you want?"_

_A slithering laughter slipped into his ears. "I want you to stop fighting, deary."_

"_No." Frank replied._

_The laughter quit abruptly. With a grinding that sounded like gritted teeth, he heard, despite his own teeth clattering- "Or else."_

_Frank waited._

"_Or else… I kill his beloved mother."_

_She let it sink in. Frank's mind imagined a face, black hair, green eyes, and pretty cheekbones, a loving face that matched Percy's. He'd never seen Mrs. Jackson. _

_Then he saw the other faces. Frank Zhang might not have much family in the literal sense, but hell yes he had a family. A big family. And he was going to keep that family safe._

_He answered. _

The others expected him to hide from Gaea's voice. But it wasn't her voice he was hiding from. It was his own.


	48. Chapter 48

**48**

**Part I:** Nico

_~Five hours after Charon's discovery~ _

"I thought maybe I'd find the Doors of Death from inside the Underworld."

"Can you?"

"I was close. Really close. But Charon called- well, he's never asked me for anything before. And he helps me often enough, so I came." He glanced at three figures to his right.

When he looked back to Leia, she was staring at him with an attentive expression.

"What?" Nico asked, his voice snapping like a taut rubber band.

"You two," she said, gesturing at the boy to her left, "You know each other?"

"Yes," Nico replied reluctantly.

Leia stayed quiet thereafter and Nico was thankful for it. Being child of Mercury, god of language, she seemed to read all his thoughts in that one syllable. He'd rather keep those to himself.

Despite having becoming close to Percy, seeing him close to dead on the ground excited some hidden hate in him and his mind had become tainted with cruel thoughts like 'why not just leave him there?'.

All he could remember was how he'd been promised the safety of his sister.

"Ahem."

Nico looked up. It was the spirit.

"We're done. Althea is just cleaning up. The boy will be back to normal in a month or two. Till then, just give him time."

Standing up from his cross-legged position, Nico walked over to Percy. Or what was left of him, anyway.

"Thanks, Jay."

The spirit looked up and grinned like a delirious fool. Nico could hardly imagine how this son of Apollo could have achieved Elysium. He _could _understand though, why he hadn't chosen to be reborn- the guy knew his own personality well enough to know that that would be a great risk. A grin like that seemed more at home in the Fields of Punishment.

When Nico did nothing more, the grin faded. A pout replaced it.

"So, when am I getting my reward?" he asked, tone souring like old milk.

Though considerably shorter than the spirit, when Nico stepped close to him, 'Jay' cowered and crumpled like a brittle sheet of paper. A whimper escaped him.

"You will receive your reward when it is convenient for me to do so." Nico replied through slightly gritted teeth. "Is that clear?"

A barely noticeable nod indicated Jay's comprehension. Then the spirit faded until he was virtually invisible and walked away.

Nico saw Leia struggle to find the translucent figure through the corner of his eye, but he sensed Jay retreating as easily as an orca might swim.

"Well," the girl started and looked back to the boy. "You seem to know how to use your words as a weapon as well as any child of Hermes," she said, stating Mercury's Greek name for his benefit.

"Oh, no." Nico responded, facing lightening. "They're just terrified of me."

Leia laughed and Nico smiled awkwardly. He stopped smiling as he looked at Percy.

_Bianca's gone_, told himself. _There's no point in hating Percy. He never meant any harm._

Once he'd half convinced himself he kneeled down, where Althea was rubbing a wet cloth against the yellowed skin around Percy's arm. The twelve year old stood and stepped away, but Nico was doubtful whether he received the space out of respect or disgust. Most probably disgust.

Retrieving a silver band from her ponytail, Althea announced, "My lady has ordered that I return as quickly as possible once my duties here are finished. Do you have any responsibilities where I will be required as help?"

"No. Thank you, Althea. Please pass my thanks to Artemis and the hunters as well."

At his mention of the hunters, Althea's face softened with sympathy and she nodded politely, and began to retreat to her things- a quiver of arrows, a bow, and small backpack that shimmered in the dull light of the Underworld. Once she'd gathered her things, she asked, "Will we see you and the boy soon? Help might be needed."

"As soon as he is useful." Nico replied.

The huntress didn't say anything more, simply nodded and hurried off.

When she'd gone, Leia asked, "Now what?"

"Now we plan and wait."

**Part II:** Percy

Percy dreamed he was floating in air, half upside down. He dreamed his blood was being drained out of him. Instead of being painful though, it was a relief- his blood felt more like burning gasoline than a life-giving substance.


	49. Chapter 49

**My updating schedule is pretty much going on and off... I know I promised at the beginning of the summer that I would steadily update chapters... I LIED! Whoops. :D Anyway... here's Ch. 49 :)**

49 Leia

Leia reached out her hand in attempt at peeling back Percy's eyelids to see his pupils. Her hand though, just slipped right through his face. Leia sighed; how was she supposed to wake him up if she couldn't shake him? And her whispery voice definitely wouldn't pull Percy out of his comatose state.

As it turned out, having a ghost plunge her hand into your face was the perfect alarm clock substitute. Percy's eyes twitched and opened at a snail's pace. His eyes fell aimlessly at the landscape of the Underworld.

Leia scooted away from the boy, his stare wasn't right- it darted and swiveled like a pendulum on a twisting thread. His torso was lifted as he jammed his elbows into the earth.

Suddenly he froze, eyes almost rolled back into his skull, a crescent of his pupil and a slice of his sea-green iris the only indication that he was still taking in his surroundings.

He voiced something inaudible and rose into a sitting position. He sat for a few minutes, just looking at his arm.

Then, glancing at Leia, he asked, "Where the hell am I? And what's wrong with me?"

"You're at the heart of the Underworld. And you were poisoned."

A smile spread across his lips- barely an appropriate reaction when one learns that they were almost killed.

"I guessed right, then."

Leia decided not to ask what he was talking about and kept silent.

"Who poisoned me?"

"I don't know."

"How am I alive?"

"Well, Nico-" she paused, checking Percy's expression to see recognition as Nico had promised.

Percy's head snapped up to meet her eyes. "Nico's alive? Where is he?"

"Yes, he's alive… he just left a half hour ago. He had some dead child of Apollo and a Hunter of Artemis save you."

"Where is he?" Percy repeated.

Leia frowned, she hadn't been told the answer to this question either. "He only told me that there was work to be done."

"Did he tell you when he's going to come back?"

"No."

"So he just left you here?" Percy asked, incredulous.

"Well… we're not each other's business. He said he knows you, though, so I suppose he'll return."

Percy's expression was dead set somewhere between anger and worry and topped off with the grimace that comes with physical pain. He'd straightened completely into a criss-cross-applesauce position. His back rested against a large rock Nico had placed beside him just for that purpose.

Percy's skin was pale, and his face resembled the white marble of some of the buildings in Camp Jupiter. His legs seemed drained of any flesh, the space occupied instead with a disarrayed clutter of blue and red veins that showed clearly in the contrast against his ivory glow. His legs and arms trembled.

"Are you cold? Nico left his jacket."

"A little. Where is it?"

Leia pointed at the black shadow beside her, where an aviator's jacket lay.

Percy didn't move. He seemed to notice that Leia wasn't going to pass it to him, so he began shift toward the coat, but collapsed back as an earsplitting crunch resonated from somewhere near his chest. His back slid slowly from the rock he was using as a backrest, pallid features churning with a cruel concoction of suffering.

He lay on the floor panting, one palm clutching his side, the other gripping a raised knee for support.

Leia watched him, unmoving. She wished she could help, but unless running another limb through his body counted as help, she didn't know what to do.

The cold set over Percy again, as his toes were turning blue, and he struggled to gain control of his motor skills as he tried to keep his shivering hands against his side.

"Could you pass the jacket, please?"

"I can't, Percy."

A hint of anger was crawling into his glare like a panther crouched to lash out and strike.

"Leia, please, I can't move."

"Percy, I _can't._ I'm _dead_," she replied gently, and let her arm fall through the jacket in a demonstration

"What? But…" Percy replied, his voice illustrating his disorientation.

Leia frowned. Nico had noticed. Charon had noticed. She pulled her arm up in front of her, and stared at it. _She _noticed it, even. Her arm was just a hazy, grayish outline, translucent, so it looked slightly tawny as it reflected the color of the ground underneath her. She was dead, a spirit, and it was obvious.

"Percy…" she said slowly, her voice increasing pitch as she began to make a slightly frightening revelation.

The boy turned toward her general direction.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

**I don't know if you laughed or gasped dramatically at that ending, but I'd like to dedicate this chapter to all my friends who asked me Leia's question when I took off my glasses... :D Have an awesome day! :)**


	50. Chapter 50

**Here's the next chapter! Twice as long as usual- hope it was worth the wait! :)**

50 Hazel

"Hazel!"

With a start, Hazel opened her eyes. Some distance away, Frank was staring at her with the most concerned expression she'd ever seen played out on his chubby face.

"Yeah?" she asked quietly; her thoughts still swooned around the facets of the diamonds, sapphires, and rubies she'd seen.

"D-don't move. Don't panic. Okay?" he asked voice .

Hazel responded with a minute nod.

"Now look down," he instructed. He sighed as if he'd just averted a disaster.

Apparently he had. Looking down, Hazel saw the rusting metal rails that marked the paths of the trains. She shifted her focus- her feet lay a few millimeters from the meter-high drop to the dusty ground of the tracks.

She leaped back and fell, scarcely avoiding knocking over a pram holding a two year old infant. The mother steering the contraption threw her a vicious look and rolled away.

Looking back at Frank, she thanked Aphrodite for such an attentive boyfriend and praised Hermes for living up to his name as protector of travelers and not scheduling a train to rush past on the tracks during the moments she'd stood at the ledge.

Soon enough, Frank was right by her, having used a high bridge to cross over on to her platform.

"What in the world are you doing, walking around with your eyes closed like that?" he demanded.

Not bothering to answer his question, Hazel told him, "Someone's leaving a trail for us."

His expression changed. "What kind of trail? Where?"

"A trail of jewels and metals. Underground." She got up and dusted off her jeans, and looked around for the rest of the group.

"What are you going to do?"

"Avoid it, I think. We need to tell Reyna, Jason, and Annabeth, though. It might be a trap set by Gaea."

Frank nodded sternly and replied, "Come with me. I know which platform they'll be at. If we go now, we'll have no problems catching up. Can you run? You fell pretty hard."

Smiling sweetly, she laughed, "If I was that fragile, do you think I'd have come out of that war alive?"

Frank smiled back before starting up a quick pace toward an exit that branched out towards all the platforms.

Hazel let herself follow him as she thought over what she'd just revealed. She closed her eyes briefly and could no longer find the glow. Pulling out a map of the train station she'd stored in her back jeans pocket, she found the location where she'd noticed the gold and opal for the first time. Drawing out the single bobby pin that kept her springy hair out of her eyes, she pressed one end against the paper, making a crease that showed the direction of the trail while it was still fresh in her mind.

Frank was some seven people ahead of her by now. By the time she'd caught up to him, he had already reached the edge of the group. He began to yell for the demigods to stop in English, but that caught the attention of the mortals around him, so he shouted instead in Latin, and shaky Greek, butchering the pronunciation of the latter.

The majority of the group didn't seem to hear, so Frank simply pushed ahead to the front of the mass. Malcolm was leading.

"Hey, where's Reyna and the other Jupiters?" Frank asked, using the nickname that the Greeks had invented for the Roman demigods.

"Back of the group. Reyna's leg is slowing her down. Leo, Piper, Annabeth, and Jason are back there helping her along."

Frank and Hazel frowned simultaneously at the mention of Reyna's leg. Their Praetor had shattered it during war, her shoulder had been badly sprained, and her right arm- her sword-wielding one- had tore a tendon.

Nobody had asked how she'd managed to receive so much damage when she was one of the best fighters in Camp- she had the agility of a panther, combined with natural instincts that led her to win almost every battle she'd held. They'd all guessed- correctly- that she'd taken her blows in an attempt at saving a fellow soldier.

When they'd reached the southernmost end of the group, Leo stated, "I'd thought you guys were behind us this whole time. You know, smooching around."

Frank seemed tempted to laugh at Leo's remark. Hazel had noticed that they'd become decent friends and were fairly comfortable exchanging a whole manner of teasing reflections. _Not that I'd ever gotten used to them, but what can you do, huh?_

"Listen," Hazel started, and the group of five listened intently. When she finished filling them in, she asked, "So what do we do? Trust that it's not Gaea tricking us, split up, what?"

"Splitting up is not an option." Reyna stated quick and stern. No one jumped at the statement, and Reyna seemed content.

"How far down deep did you say it was?" Annabeth asked, looking as though she had something else on her mind.

"Pretty damn low. Maybe even into the Underworld." Hazel responded.

Her grey eyes sparked, as if a light had been turned on behind them. Quickly, her eyebrows fell back to their original position, though her pupils seem more dilated than humanly possible.

She nodded calmly, and replied, "Well, I doubt Gaea has any power in your father's land. I vote to follow it."

The others shared quick glances loaded with meaning as they walked.

"Who are we even following here? Who set the trail in the first place, if it isn't Gaea?" Leo broke in.

No one offered an answer, so Leo continued.

"Listen. We don't know anyone who has direct access to the Underworld. This is probably one of Gaea's demigods. I think we should just stick to the original plan and go kick Gaea's-"

"Unlikely." Annabeth interrupted. "Hazel, has Gaea ever tried to enter your mind?"

"Not that I know of…" Hazel replied uncertainly.

"Then it's even more doubtful that this is a demigod of Gaea's. If Gaea herself isn't aware of Hazel's powers, it's almost impossible that one of her demigods is stalking us. And for what? To set up a trail that leads away from the second battle? I doubt it. We should investigate. There's enough-"

"We can't base our decisions on shaky ground like that. Hazel is a child of one of the big three. Hades, even, whose children are extremely dangerous and prone to hold deadly grudges. Gaea must be aware of the powers of each and every soldier we have." Reyna replied. "Otherwise, we wouldn't have had such a hard time winning the last battle." She looked pointedly at her bandaged leg and arm.

Silenced reined temporarily. As early morning turned to working hours, business men and women fled the trains on the ways to their jobs, and the platforms' crowds began to thin out.

"Nico." Hazel said quietly. Her soft voice grabbed all the more attention.

Annabeth looked up. Hazel glanced at her. "It's him. It has to be. He's missing anyway. Anyone would suspect that he's in the Underworld. He spends most of his time there. And he knows my powers.

"It's him," she repeated, insistent. "Let's turn back."

"I'm in." Annabeth piped up. "I owe it to Bianca and the other hunters helped in saving me and putting Atlas back in his rightful place. Let's go."

As she turned her back on the group, Piper's hand fell on her shoulder.

"Listen, Annabeth. I know you miss Percy. I know you think that this is him. But it could be dangerous. We can't lose you, too. We need you, here."

For a split second, Annabeth seemed convinced. Then, with a sudden jerk that shook off Piper's palm, she moved back.

"Percy is _dead, _Piper," she said sternly. "Dead. I know it. I'm doing this to save Nico. Percy once failed in keeping a promise to him which ended with the death of the boy's sister. He would have hated it Nico himself got hurt. Don't try protecting me. I know what I'm doing."

Piper seemed bit shocked- she'd managed to tame to most unruly of giants in the midst of war, but this willowy girl had shook off her charmspeak like a winter coat.

Annabeth glanced at Hazel. "You're coming, aren't you?"

Hazel could hear a slight tremor in her voice- she needed Hazel. How else would she follow the trail? The average metal detector wouldn't cut it this time.

Whether or not Annabeth went, Hazel's mind was set. "Of course."

Reyna, who'd been quiet throughout most of the conversation, suddenly contributed her thoughts, "I have no control, direct or indirect, over the actions of any of the Greek soldiers since Percy's disappearance. But I do, however, have full power over the actions of you, Hazel Levesque. Being a fellow Roman demigod, and your Praetor besides, I advice that you not take such a rash decision. In fact, I forbid it."

Annabeth's head snapped up. Hazel's whipped around, eyes narrowed. Up until now, Hazel and Reyna had been on good terms. Great, even. She was reliable and not entirely bad company, once you got to know her.

"Reyna, you can't do this to me. Nico is my friend. Always has been. He must need help, or is maybe giving it to us with this trail. All we're doing is walking into another war, anyway. This is a _lead_. Are you really going to leave that opportunity untouched?"

With a winning poker face, she replied- "Yes."

"Praetor, please!"

"Hazel, I know this is important to you. But our numbers are short already. We've lost enough of our soldiers. As leader, I must think logically and act likewise. The help of the Greeks, the great aid that it is, is not a guarantee. In the event that we lose their crucial support, it is possible that one soldier could turn the tables and help achieve a victory. Furthermore, you are one of the Seven. I want you in my care. As Piper has said to Annabeth, we need you here."

Hazel blew out breath of air, laughing angrily. "I wouldn't even be alive in the first place if it weren't for Nico! I'm helping save him no matter what. He saved me from the Underworld, it's my turn to pay him back."

Hazel should have caught a flicker that passed over Reyna's expression. But she didn't.

"Is that your condition? You must help in saving him?"

"I'll settle for no less. Plus, Annabeth needs m-"

"Done." Reyna stated, and continued to limp away on her makeshift crutches- a pair of twisted and blunt swords disguised in cloth and paint to resemble a standard pair.

"Really, it's not-" Hazel seemed to have just heard her Praetor's affirmative. "What?"

"I said "Done". Okay, sure, fine, yes. You can help save him."

Hazel began to walk beside her, pushing past everyone- namely, Annabeth, Piper, and Leo- who stood in her way. She ignored Frank and Jason's equally curious and paranoid stares.

"What do you mean? There's a condition isn't it? There's something you're hiding."

"No, not at all. I'll do just as you said. You can _help_ save him."

This time, Hazel caught the slight emphasis. With an agitated moan, she stomped off. The suspicions she'd shared with Leo about Reyna's mental health were long forgotten. This was their Praetor, all right. Their good old Praetor…


	51. Chapter 51

**Sorry I took so long to update, I was away for the weekend and I was also working on a sneak peak! And thanks all you guys for following my story! :)**

51 Leo

Leo had to stop himself from laughing- he'd taught Reyna well. She'd managed to get her way without _completely_ loosing the friendship of her soldier.

Frank gave him a look-he glanced at Hazel as she walked away, upset- as if saying, _That's my cue! _With one last, worried glance at Annabeth, he followed his girlfriend.

When he'd turned from Frank, he nearly jumped out of his clothes. Annabeth's face was right in his- or rather, her face was in Reyna's. Leo and Jason stood on either side of the Praetor, helping her move along with her uncomfortable crutches. Leo had done his best at turning the damaged swords into a helpful support, but the mangled metal hadn't cooperated as well as he'd have liked.

"Hazel is coming with me- she has the right to find her own brother." Annabeth stated.

"Half brother." Reyna corrected in the most composed of tones. "But more to the point, Hazel may only aid you. She cannot accompany you the whole way to whatever destination this trail leads to. She's a valuable fighter and I'm not willing to lose her in such a situation. Anyway, if Hazel goes, I suppose Frank will want to go along as well. Then, two of my most responsible demigods, and two of the seven in the prophecy would be put in danger. If something should happen, the prophecy might not be able to be completed. Camp Jupiter would be blamed. I'll have none of that."

Annabeth sighed. It looked to Leo as if she'd just realized that Reyna's decision was solid, unwavering and reasonable, too.

"All right. She won't follow me into the Underworld. But, she _will_ lead me to the point where the trail ends. She'll create or find a route that leads down to the Underworld, an easy walk's distance from its end. She'll be safe."

"That's fine." Reyna replied.

"We're leaving as soon as I find her. Good luc-"

"Hey, wait!" Piper cried. Annabeth froze involuntarily.

"What is it?"

"You know Nyssa, from Hephaestus' cabin? She said that the ship would be waiting at the closest port. I've captured tons of giants…there's more than enough to go around. Go to the Argo II first, get a giant and then go on the trail. You should have some protection."

"I agree to that." Reyna replied.

Annabeth bit the inside of her lip for one hesitant second. "The trail could disappear… I don't want to waste time…"

"Annabeth, do as I say." Piper commanded. Her eyes were shut closed, and her fingers lay clenched into fists.

Annabeth stared at Piper. Through gritted teeth, she unwilling replied, "I'll do as you say. I promise on the gods."

Piper let out a breath of air and relaxed. "You're tough."

"I can be tougher if I need to. Careful with that trick."

Piper smiled and had a quiet laugh. "C'mon lets go."

Jason nodded. "We're wasting enough time already. If we don't take advantage of Gaea's pause like the Athenians did in the Battle of Thermoplylae, we'll little chance of winning. Let's get everyone to the Argo II, train some giants, and prepare for war."

Annabeth stiffened. Slowly, she turned.

Leo followed her gaze- she was looking at an old woman, grey haired and slender, holding in her hand a ball of yarn. She wore oval glasses that highlighted her eyes. Her eyes which were copies of Annabeth's. Intense and grey, like twin moons.

"Go away." Annabeth muttered under her breath.

Ignoring the warning, the woman approached the group. By now, the rest of the demigods were so far ahead, they could barely hear their voices. Leo glanced at them- they had stopped, and were looking around. He could just about make out Malcolm, standing still with a concentrated expression and closed eyes.

Reyna, tilting her crutches, bowed her head curtly at the woman. The group followed her actions. The entire group, except, of course, Annabeth.

"What do you want?" Annabeth asked, quietly.

"I want to help you win this battle. And so I shall," replied Athena.

"Haven't you done enough?" Annabeth questioned, head bowed uncharacteristically.

"I see Aphrodite has been playing with your mind."

Piper scowled.

"But I'll grant you my help out of kindness-"

Annabeth walked away hurriedly. Looking at Reyna, she said, "I'm going to find Hazel. We're going to grab a giant and get on our way. Piper, mind coming to make sure the brutes don't turn on us until we're at least out of the ship?"

"Uh, yeah, no problem." Awkwardly, Piper faced the goddess that had just scorned her mother and bowed before going to Annabeth's side.

"Leo, go with them. Help them find the ship." Reyna added.

"All right." He began to walk away.

"Wait-!" Pulling out a scroll from his back jeans pocket, he handed it to Reyna. "Take this. Send us a message before you approach."

Reyna took the scroll and tucked it into a fold in the cloth lining of her crutch.

Leo bowed to the goddess of wisdom and crafts, and walked away with Annabeth and Piper. He could feel her eyes burning holes into the back of his head.

_Keep her safe, Leo._

Leo nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned around, and looked at the goddess. She was talking to Reyna and Jason, and gave no indication that she was also having a telepathic conversation with him. Despite it he gave one nod in her direction and she gave him an acknowledging glance.

As he walked and tried to catch up with Annabeth and Piper, he wondered what was worse. Punishment by Athena, or punishment by Annabeth?


	52. Chapter 52

**Hello ever faithful readers who are so kind as to ignore my horrible updating schedule! Here's the next chapter- and wait! You can now find my story on Percabethforever234's community: Mark of Athena stories, which also holds a lot of other awesome MOAs! Go check it out! You won't? What, you chicken? I DARE you! :) No seriously, give it a try! And as always, please review!**

52 Leo

A wide smile spread across his lips as he placed his eyes on his mighty ship. Radiating a buttery glow and reflecting the vermilion shade of the dusk, it reminded Leo of poor Festus.

The thought of the dragon reminded him of the matter at- protecting Annabeth. For all that she was, she wasn't a god, and, finally, over the commute to port during which he'd been juggling possible actions, he'd come to a conclusion. Athena was the worst enemy imaginable, so he'd abide by her rules- if even the cost was the loss of her daughter's friendship… or his life.

But hopefully, it wouldn't have to come to that.

He reached into his tool belt's generous pocket, willing it to spit forth the firework rocket he'd been making on the train ride. When a solid object filled the hollow of his palm, drew it out.

It was a cylinder- the corpse of a can of soda. Its insides were packed with a mild explosive he'd snatched back at Camp. From the opening where the metal pull-tab had been, protruded a detonation wire- _this,_ he hadn't acquired so innocently.

The train ride had proved to be unbelievably boring, so baring in fact, that he'd almost wished Hestia hadn't offered them all those tickets. Maturity temporarily forgotten, he'd teamed up with the Stoll brother- a pairing that cost the other demigods' their sense of safety and rendered them paranoid, and rightly so.

For a time, they'd excavated exquisite dishes from the storage room, which, before their not-so-mysterious disappearance, had been headed for the first-class passengers.

Eventually, though, the "three musketeers" sneaked into the cargo hold, thanks to the Stolls' instinctive reactions and Leo's familiarity with locks. They stumbled upon an assortment of luggage, some mining equipment in the process of being exported, and a peculiar cage that emitted a terrifyingly Chihuahua-like growl.

There and then, the musketeers split up- Leo going solo while the Connor and Travis returned to being the dynamic duo. The twins rummaged through the most expensive looking of the luggage, Leo added hard hats, chisels, and other tools to his inventory, and all three of them avoided the growling cage.

Returning to reality, Leo looked toward Annabeth, Hazel, and Piper, who were admiring the sunset.

"You guys carry a pen and paper?"

The demigods reluctantly withdrew their stares and searched their pockets for the wanted items.

Annabeth handed him a pen, saying, "Don't you lose that. Percy gave it to me for my birthday one year."

Leo looked at her full in the face, "He gave you, of _all_ things, a _pen!?_ And for your birthday? Man, I would have killed to see that moment."

Annabeth smiled, "Better than what the Stoll's gave me…"

"What did they give you?" Leo asked eagerly.

"I don't want to talk about it," Annabeth replied suddenly. Her lips were a thin white line, but her cheeks glowed red.

Leo, trying not to laugh, taunted, "I guess I'll just have to ask them myself…"

"No!" Annabeth cried.

Leo laughed again, and as he took the piece of paper that Hazel handed him he said in a sing song voice, "Listen, Annabeth. We can do this the hard way or the easy war, but whatever happens, I'm going to find out…"

Hazel gave him a wink and mouthed something that implied she knew what Annabeth so determined on hiding, and was willing to share later. Leo let the topic drop, as the mention of Percy had brought a shadow over his friend's face.

He glanced at the glossy sheet of paper he'd been given.

"What's this?"

"Magazine paper." Hazel replied evenly.

"I mean, what's the picture on it?"

Bowing her head like she'd been caught committing a crime, she admitted, "Shrimp gumbo…"

"C'mon, really?" Frank wondered as he caught up with them, changing from his eagle form. He'd been lagging behind, flying low circles across the scarlet sky, claiming that he suffered from a headache and needed quiet. Leo didn't buy it, but it's not easy convincing your friend to open up when he can fly away from you, swim away from you, and run away from you, all at the speeds faster than the best of Olympic athletes. And Piper's voice could only be convincing from a certain distance; she'd learned from experience that yelling at the top of her lungs was _not_ an enchanting sound.

"What? I got hungry! The train's staff's hospitality is great, like Hestia promised, but their food service is slower and clumsier than Hannibal on heels!"

_And now it's under stocked, as well…_ Leo thought, rubbing his stomach happily.

Frank smiled at the picture Hazel had just drawn of their pet elephant, and then grimaced. If the headache story was a fake as Leo suspected, Frank was doing a great job at acting his role.

Leo shook his head and began scribbling on to the piece of paper:

'_Yo, my peeps!_'- Here inserted a smiley that looked as if it had had plastic surgery gone wrong.

He continued-'_Leo, the princess, tunnel-girl, nerd/invisible woman, and hulk here. Open the gates, we got business to do!"_

Piper leaned over his shoulder and inquired skeptically, " 'the princess'? Really?"

"Hey, if it fits…" Leo began, then quickly stopped when he caught the 'princess's' glare. "I'm just trying to protect our identities here! Gaea doesn't have to humor to crack these codes."

"Whatever." Piper muttered.

He flattened the note and searched for a roll of duct tape in his tool belt. Ripping out a strip of the helpful stuff, he stuck the note to bottom of the can and check to make sure it stayed in place.

Bringing a candle worthy flame to a random finger and raising it up to avoid burning the rest of his hand, her held it to the detonation wire.

Between snickers, he heard Hazel say, "Uh... Leo?"He couldn't catch her expression but it sounded as if she was laughing as well.

"Yeah?" he asked impatiently- even being a son of Hephaestus, handling rockets was a dangerous job, and required caution- he only had so much detonation wire, no delays to slow the spark, and no way of knowing how fast the material would be eaten up.

Hazel started again to talk again. "Maybe the fire is burning up your common sense as well, I don't know, but... do you know exactly which finger you're holding up?"


	53. Chapter 53

**After a coma-worthy amount of time... Chapter 53. And a Sneak Peak as sugar coating!**

53 Nico

"We will not win this battle if you and the other demigods head toward the second battle in Athens without an advantage to use. The recapture of the Doors of Death is necessary if we are to win," came Hades' voice, radiating a frightening tone that Nico was now able to bear.

"The demigods won't listen to me or you. How do we convince them, father?"

Hades' face, paler than a polar bear's pelt, allowed a smile that would have chilled most demigods down to the bone. But not Nico- the boy smiled with the god, shaping his face into near copy, as time had taught him that that smile always preceded victories.

"I hear you are nursing Percy back to health."

Nico suspected the sudden change of topic to be a hint. Wary, he simply replied, "Yes."

"It's dangerous, what you are doing. Always learn the enemy before cleaning up her mess. You never know how she'll react."

"She?" Nico asked.

"Athena. Like I said, maybe the goddess wanted the demigod dead. Be careful not to go against her wishes."

"Why would Athena try to kill Percy? Annabeth…"

"The minds of us gods are just as confusing as those of your kind, Nico," Hades replied, patting his son's head briefly as he rose from his throne.

Nico bowed his head as his father came to his feet. When he'd straightened, Nico asked, "We still don't know how to convince the demigods. They'll likely be as stubborn as any of the gods would be if they heard that something in the realm of Hades will change the tides of war and guarantee a victory."

"That is for you to figure out. I have work to do. Those wretched giants are causing havoc. Gaea will certainly pay for the mess she's laid down on me. She'll be brought down in humiliation and the stories of her defeat will ring with new resonance throughout the world, in one form, or another."

Nico did not interrupt his father's thoughts. Instead he followed his orders and backed away, wondering how he'd convince the demigods to follow the advice of the god they most feared. As he did, his hand slipped over the foot of Hades' throne, and felt the ragged edges of countless jewels. They loosened their hold onto the melded bones that form the seat's structure and came free, falling to his palm with a barely noticeable clank.

**Sneak Peak:**

Annabeth was in the worst mood she'd been since the time some boys from the Aphrodite cabin had spread buckets of honey over her cabin's floor and she, as head of the cabin, had been left in charge of clean-up.

Ahead, Gaea's grotesque giants and earthborns lay soaking in the damp air of the Underworld, closely watching the flow of dead going to and fro from the Fields of Punishment and the surface. Every few moments, a giant would come to the gates, and those minions of Gaea's who were on guard duty would nod, letting them escape death. A glow would overcome their slimy, wart-covered features and just like that, they would lose their ghostly transparency.

Annabeth could almost see the frown that was undoubtedly growing on Thanatos' face.

Behind her, something shuffled and snapped, creating a sharp sound. Instantly, the demigods froze. A giant turned his head toward the darkness that enveloped them. His eyes narrowed, and his eyebrows began to raise- then as if he hadn't even noticed, he went back to exploring the inhabitants of his runny nose. One advantage they had when facing giants was smarts- the giants lacked the trait almost completely.

Annabeth looked to her right, at Reyna. She in turn frowned at the demigod behind her. Leo.

"Sorry!" he whispered. "I thought it was a snail, so I kicked it. Who knew snails were so loud." Promptly, he gave his signature smile, crooked and charming as ever- if only he hadn't almost blown their cover.

"Snails in the Underworld," Annabeth muttered. "It was probably a rock. And by the sound of it, only slightly thicker than your own head."

"Heyyy!" Leo replied indignantly, voice raising.

"Shut up! They'll hear!" Annabeth hissed.

Their muffled voices must have reached the giants and earthborns, as they gave another cursory glance in their direction.

Annabeth sighed quietly. _How in the world am I supposed to plan a sneak attack if we're kicking snails and arguing!? I swear, if I hear one more word, I'll-_

"Annabeth!" came a call, a few decibels short of a shout. The husky voice prodded at her mind.

Without thinking, anger broiling in her head, she turned around and landed a thick punch right into the abdomen of the demigod who called her name so loudly. His green eyes caught the dull light in a familiar way...


	54. Chapter 54

**Ok, I think I've finally managed to convince myself that I'm NOT a consistent person! So let's not raise your hopes with my updating schedules... still- two chapters a week will be my goal, but I tell you, I am SWAMPED every single day! Not that you care or anything, but just putting it out there! ;) So please have some sympathy! Anyway, here's that chapter 54 that was supposed to be online during the weekend... 55 is on the way, as well :) Thanks guys for still following this story despite the HORRIBLE updating schedule! Seriously, you are some awesome people! ;) Have a great week!**

54 Leo

By the time Annabeth, Hazel, and Frank were ready to depart, Leo had concocted a plan and finished making his extra-portable suitcase. Or as he called it, "The W.A.S.S.U.P."- Waterproof, Airtight Suitcase Synthesized for Uaab Plan. U.A.A.B. in turn stood for Used As Annabeth's Bodyguard.

_I have way-y-y to much free time on my hands_, Leo thought, as he admired his creation and its catchy name. In reality, he'd only spent so much time on the matter because he'd wanted to avoid thinking about Athena, and the cold, hard way her voice had sounded in his head. He wanted to erase the thought of it, though the memory lingered in his mind like an aftertaste.

He again turned to his "suitcase", and admired his handy work. It resembled a gold rubix cube, though it was just made of scrap bronze. Inside were a few of his Camp Half-Blood t-shirts, a mismatched pair of socks, one pair of jeans, and some ambrosia. He'd gone through the trouble of making the magical device, because he found that the clothes his tool belt spit out were the weirdest he'd yet seen- tie-dyed in a patternless manner with a vibrant set of colors and branded with the words: R.O.F.L.: Rainbow Organic Foods and Lifestyles. Even worse, any ambrosia he brought forth from his belt tasted like the Organic meals the t-shirts had advertised. So, _not_ good.

"Leo!" he heard Nyssa's voice shout. "They're leaving!"

Quickly, Leo jumped off his bed and grabbed the tools he'd been using and stuffed them into his belt. Saying some last, encouraging words to his rubix cube suitcase, which were "Hope you don't end up tasting like that dry tofu," he pushed it into his tool belt, where it promptly disappeared.

"Yeah, sure, I'm coming!" he replied to Nyssa in the most casual tone he could capture.

He took one last second to review his plan, and then, with a desperate prayer to Hephaestus, he left his note on his bed in clear sight among the crumpled sheets and knickknacks, and jumped out his room window without time for another thought.

* * *

For the thousandth time, Leo dodged Hazel's line of sight and cowered behind a tree. If Annabeth found out why he was following her and who had set him up to it, she'd make it near impossible for him to do as Athena had asked, and Leo did not want Athena disappointed in him in any way whatsoever. There had been too many hidden messages in her tone for him to able to go about the mission with any significant amount of nonchalance or carelessness.

_It can't possibly get harder than this_, he thought- but he quickly knocked on the closest piece of wood he could find-the tree he was using as cover. (Better to be superstitious now than sorry later!) It was noon, and no clouds masked the sky or dimmed the sun- he was, for seconds at a time, in clear sight. And apparently, Frank hadn't planned to just stay on board- he'd insisted on coming, blushing as he explained that he didn't trust Hazel on her own. Leo did _not_ buy it. As cute as a couple that they were, he had the hunch that there was some other hidden motivation driving Frank to accompany the group. Piper, too, had decided that she was necessary on the trip- at least until Annabeth reached the end of the trail. But worst of all, the giant they'd chosen from the captured had, of all things, the nose of a bloodhound. And Leo's oil greased fingers and tofu breath kept it sniffing determinedly.

So there he was, stuck between the altercations of a mother and a daughter- a very intimidating mother and daughter, mind you- with no weapon other than some childhood hide-and-seek experience. Despite it, he caught whips of conversations and began to understand Annabeth's plan.

Hazel would lead them to the end of the trail, however long it was. At that point, she'd find an appropriate location to create a tunnel with her Geokinesis abilities and Annabeth would climb down it. Once she'd reached the bottom- and Leo could only imagine how long _that_ descent would take- she'd make the most discreet signal possible to indicate that she'd reached the bottom safely. The others would turn back at that point and return to Reyna and Jason to investigate on what Athena had ordered them to do.

As Leo walked, or rather, _stalked_, he wondered why Annabeth wasn't the least bit curious about exactly _where_ Percy had gone, instead of if he was alive. While it _had_ been Athena who'd poisoned Percy, it was Poseidon who'd taken Percy away a great wave of sea water. And Poseidon hadn't so much as said a word about the whole incident. From what he knew about the tensions between this god of the seas and that goddess of wisdom, it was very out of character for Poseidon to be perfectly fine with Athena killing his son.

The words resonated through his mind. He realized it for the first time, completely. Percy could be _dead_. Gone, never to be seen or spoken of again, or at least not when Annabeth was around. A pang of hurt rushed through Leo- _That can't just be the end, can it? He can't just…die. _The word murderer slithered into his mind like the evil of night crawling into a bright evening.

His hurt turned to anger in a violent rush of thoughts and he almost stepped out from behind the tree and right then and there shouted to Annabeth what her mother was making him do.

But now the chasm was created. Annabeth had climbed down it. There was no turning back.

Leo steadied his thoughts and breathing. He opened his closed fist, and checked on the tiny explosive he'd created. The trigger wire was slightly damp with his sweat, but it would have to do. He lit it the wire with his free hand and threw it at a predetermined moment- right over the heads of the group.

Through the smoke and shouts, he passed unnoticed into the hollow and descended rapidly, until he was right beside Annabeth in the claustrophobic darkness.


	55. Chapter 55

**Well for this week at least I've reached my 2 Chapters a week goal- might upload more if I find time. Enjoy, and please, review! :)**

55 Annabeth

Darkness the color of fresh pitch enshrouded her; no light seeped through from above, as the tunnel walls seemed to absorb all brightness before it could light her surroundings. She could barely tell up from down, all sense of direction obscured by the claustrophobic confines of the tunnel. The tunnel itself seemed to be moving, like an elevator of some sort. Annabeth wasn't sure if this was Hazel trying to save her time, or if some supernatural force was acting to help her. After a few seconds, the tunnel abruptly halted and she almost lost her footing. She glanced above and saw a pinpoint of light. She heard the echoes of a muffled thud and a faint scream, though she couldn't decide if it came from above or below as the noise bounced off the walls and echoed to the point where the sounds were barely recognizable.

She felt an urge to climb back up and see what'd happened, but she went against it. She had to find Percy. Realizing what she'd just thought, she scolded herself. _He's dead, Annabeth. Dead. _But it didn't feel like it. Not even close. She missed him and was worried, but she didn't feel like he was dead. The strange noises rising from the sides of walls gave her hope, unfathomable as the noises were, they were something to cling on to.

She hated her mind for what it thought, for her objective _was_ in fact, to find Nico. She'd never find Percy on her own- if Poseidon hadn't yet told her a word of his son's death, she doubted he would in the future. But Nico, Nico was something. Maybe he'd seen Percy in the Underworld, among the Blest. Maybe.

With nimble feet, she started her descent. With the aid of the moving tunnel, she felt she was making a lot of progress. She was impressed by Hazel's ability- if it was, in fact, Hazel who was stirring the chasm- but feared she'd suddenly lose her concentration again and send her tumbling into the depths at deadly speed. She reached out her hand to gain a better grip on the wall- though compared to the treacherous, lava-oozing climbing wall at camp, the descent seemed effortless- and her brushed against something soft and… _fleshy. _She could've bet that it was skin. _Human _skin.

_Well, human skin is better than…_ She stopped the thought. Imagining hidden horrors wasn't going to help her. But dealing with this one would. She quietly changed position, so instead of having her back face…whoever it was, she was right above "it". She'd have to keep her position hidden if she wanted to be on the safe side.

She drew out her knife from the damp tunnel wall- she'd been using it as an ice axe. Satisfied with her silent movements, and convinced that the person hadn't recognized her actions, she spoke:

"My knife is drawn. Reveal yourself or fall to your death." Her voice had hardened over the few weeks. She sounded intimidating- even to herself.

The thing made no reply. Annabeth frowned in the darkness. This wasn't what she'd expected, or hoped for. She pointed her knife downwards and did a swift, but shallow swing. Her knife cut into the air- and nothing else. The demigod was gone.

"I see you, stranger." She stated loudly. She chose her words carefully, if she used too many, she'd give herself away, and that in fact, she saw nothing at all. "Beware- the fiercest demigod of Hades faces you," she bluffed- fear was what she wished to instigate, but "smartest daughter of Athena" didn't seem to cut it. That just brought up an image of a nerdy girl with buck teeth, frizzy hair, and grandpa glasses, those cliché images imprinted onto the minds of people by movies and the sort. No, for first impressions like these, a demigod of Hades was a good name to go by.

A sudden flash of light was thrust in her face, and for many a frightening moment she was sightless. While her eyes had seemed useless before, now they seemed blind. She couldn't see the end of her own nose. The fiery glow and given her little time to adjust from the darkness, and by now, no doubt, the demigod was gone. He _was. _She could hear his pants from below, and now, she was certain of his position. Her gut told her where to aim. And she swung her knife viciously downwards.


	56. Chapter 56

**Its 4 pages long :D Enjoy!**

56 Annabeth

Annabeth took a steady fall from two meters high- the end of the tunnel. On the damp earth of the Underworld she found her knife lodged in a perfect right angle to the ground, up to the wooden hilt. She frowned, as she pulled it out, and it made a slurping noise as it was released from its tight vacuum. The angle that she'd aimed at did not correspond with the angle she'd found the knife at. In fact, the knife shouldn't have been there all together. She should have found it, if not on the demigod, stuck fast to the damp walls of the moving tunnel. As she'd descended, she'd scanned the walls with her palms every two steps she'd took down. She'd found at least two deep scars that would have matched the size of her knife and the area at which she'd thrown it. The demigod must have got out lucky. He must have removed it from the wall either to annoy her or just to have her lose confidence in her aim. Why he didn't just take the knife for himself puzzled her though. He might have been too hurt for such a task… but he _had_ made it all the way down and hidden himself from sight. Neither had she found any blood on the blade of the sword, or at least, not enough to hinder him so. Most likely, the knife had brushed past his shoulder blade and made a shallow dip before wedging itself into the wall. So why did he let her have her only weapon?

Annabeth took in her surroundings. This part of the Underworld was dull and for the most part, quiet. There were strange echoes, just as she'd heard before, but there were frequent intervals of silence, where the only sound was the dripping of water into a puddle some distance away, though the _plop_ was as clear as if it was right in front of her. If she was careful, she'd hear any incoming creature before it even got a glimpse of her. Judging by the way the noises sounded, there was a big cave up ahead, though she could not see it for the tunnel was sinuous and twisting. The dull walls and darkness also hindered her. But it was at least brighter than in the chasm.

The walls were muddled mixtures of damp earth the color of tanned leather studded with darker rocks that looked like coal. She spent a minute scanning the ground ahead and behind her, looking for any precious or semi-precious stone. At long last, she found a speck of silver ahead, but found nothing more. Here was the tricky part: Hazel had found a trail, but where it started and where it ended was a mystery. For all they knew, Annabeth could end up at the start of the trail, and waste precious time. She'd just have to go in the direction they'd been following and hope to the gods that it was the right one.

Hazel had chosen the spot for the chasm for three reasons. One was the fact that above ground, any further attempts at walking ahead were made impossible be a small cliff too steep to climb. Neither could she sense any more jewels ahead, while before she sniffed them out from miles away, and they'd each been placed half a mile apart. Lastly, the ground here was damp and so malleable enough to create a tunnel but so much that it would be weak.

Annabeth glanced up at the chasm, which now seemed to be quivering, if that was possible. Hazel must be losing her grip on the ground- she'd been at it for a good half hour by now. She'd have to give the signal that she'd landed safely. Two ends of a rope dangled from the edge of chasm, where it'd been cast out in case of an emergency. It was weak though, not meant for holding human weights for too long, so she'd ignored it on the descent. Above, it'd been wedged between two heavy rocks… if she pulled on one end, the other would move up and essentially do the part of a pulley. She removed the silver pebble from her pocket and untwined a few strands from one end of the rope, used them to tie the pebble into place. Then, climbing and jumping to grab hold of the second end, she pulled. Though movement was rough, the silver pebble moved up.

She pulled until she felt the pebble catch between the two rocks. The bag she'd packed was thrown down, and she caught it with her arm and shoulder before it could thump against the ground- she wanted to be quiet. She felt a tug on the rope and then, swiftly, she stepped out from the area beneath the vertical tunnel, just in time to avoid the great big bulk of the giant. A rough fall it was, as it was too big to properly fall through, so bumping against the sides of the wall, it hit the ground rather softly, though her efforts at staying quiet were in vain as the soft bump was amplified by its echoes.

Annabeth was confident that even Frank in bear form couldn't have pushed the giant through. This was the work of Piper. Annabeth was amazed at her ability, and now on the cautious side with the girl- she doubted the demigod new the full extent of her powers.

Suddenly, the chasm grew out to fill the hollow and rope she'd been holding snapped out between her slender fingers and was sucked into the damp ceiling.

She hiked the bag onto her back, shifting it lightly so the weight fell equally to each side. Then, patting her knife's sheath, she set off into the dimness, towards where she supposed was the open space, towards the directions of the _plops_.

The giant wearily got up and followed her. Annabeth was a bit alarmed at its obedience. It must have been Piper, though her powers must have reached the stars, so to speak, as Annabeth had never before heard of a charmspeaker whose words took long lasting effect.

For a few hours, they walked in such a way, the strange pair. The giant's footsteps were quite loud and it made noises from its throat often as if a rat was lodged in it. All this snorting a thumping was thoroughly ruining the quiet and silent approach Annabeth had planned. The sound of water dripping was faint against the background of the giant's "sound effects." Echoes were hard to catch with "Snorty", as she'd named him, distracting her.

So it was not until the sources of the echoes were a good twenty meters away that she heard the voices. She hurriedly told the giant to sit quietly on the ground as if asleep. It looked at her blankly. So speaking then in shaky Latin, it seemed, for the most apart, to understand her intentions. It crouched down and closed its eyes, though the snorts persisted. Luckily, they could be perceived as snores.

Satisfied, Annabeth put her Yankees cap on and disappeared from sight. She walked in the direction they'd been walking from; checking for any foot prints, for the ground was slightly boggy and conformed to the shape of their feet. She went on for a few meters, patting out any footprints with her palms so they blended in with surrounding ground before she saw them. Red blotches like stains on the ground. Blood.

She stood and squinted at the ground of the tunnel. More drops of the stuff were there, like a trail, even. She found no other footprints so either the blood was from some invisible thing, the giant, or her herself. But she doubted the two latter possibilities for she'd constantly checked, after every few meters, the path behind her, and she would certainly have noticed the blood. She'd grown especially paranoid and suspicious that she was being followed. This blood was just adding to her gut feeling.

Of course, maybe it had been there before and she'd just missed it. Or it could be that some creatures knew how to shadow travel like Nico and had taken this road after she'd passed it. But what was the likelihood of that?

So tangled in her thoughts was Annabeth that she didn't notice that creatures had come into her line of sight. They were only a few feet away and Annabeth only narrowly avoided bumping into one of them. In terms of looks, they seemed related to Gaea's earthborns, but they talked in what sounded like a casual tone in some strange tongue, so Annabeth withheld the possibility of them being enemies. She glanced wearily at the ground. While till now she'd taken soft steps as to avoid footprints, her hasty sidestep had left a mark.

The pair didn't seem to notice though, and walked on with the only acknowledgement of realizing that something was out of place being a sniff in her direction. As they went round the corner, Annabeth patted the ground to hide her footprint and made light but fleeting steps toward Snorty. He was up now, snorting away. They quickly regained their bearings and made off.

Annabeth kept her cap on hereafter, despite the disturbing reality that was invisibility. After many more a snort-filled hour, Annabeth grew weary. Her legs weren't tired but she knew that if she kept going, the next day would be slow in progress. The giant as well, seemed drained. The beast was meant more for quick bursts of speed rather than long migrations, explaining why it had been so easily caught after the lengthy war.

But the tunnels were barely a suitable spot for a rest, much less to spend the night, as the sun had surely gone down by now. The echoes from the cave were closer now, so Annabeth urged the giant to walk on, until they made it.

The cave was large and, well… cavernous. There seemed to be more light in it than in the tunnels, though Annabeth could not find any light source. At the very far end, the great opening again narrowed to a hall, this one lit with torches. The cave itself was vast, the size of a fairly big shopping mall. Neither was it empty. It was spotted with dead looking woods with leafless boughs the color of a cherry tree's. The branches seemed wet with dew. Through the middle of the cavern, a brook babbled and trickled. On the eastward end, where no trees lay, the brook vanished into a large hole from which the various noises of water splashing and thrashing against rocks resonated. Here must have been the source of the _plops_.

The giant ran toward the brook, splashing in it and gulping up large quantities of water, so much that Annabeth feared the stream would run dry. She called for him to stop, but then he was finished anyway. Annabeth tasted a handful of water, then she went back to her pack. Dragging it back to the undergrowth of the trees, she set up a small camp, deep in the dead forest, hidden from sight, but not blind either. From the inside, through cracks, she could see the cavern though some parts were hidden by low branches. From outside the mini-forest, one wouldn't see a clue of her presence unless you were to squint in that particular direction, and from a close distance.

She set up camp, laying out a sleeping bag and a light quilt, in case giants get cold at night. Her food and supplies, she kept in the bag, so if she had to run, she need only grab it, and not have to flounder with the task of cradling all the items.

She broke of a few pieces of dry wood from the dead trees, though it was hard to find when they were all covered in the dew-like substance. She made a small fire and a shield out her bag to direct any wisps of smoke away from the ceiling, so her position would be secret.

Once she'd finished, Snorty had gone to sleep. Apparently giants did like blankets. More surprising was the fact that he sucked his finger, but hey, with giants, you never know their age!

An hour passed and Annabeth hadn't felt any symptoms from drinking the water from the Brook, so she filled her bottle, which she'd drained on the walk, and drank, as well as washed her face.

She sat by the brook for some time, just listening to its babbling and staring at the ceiling, noticing that the curved shape resembled a vaulted ceiling, like those in famous cathedrals. Architecture swarmed into her thoughts and completely encompassed her mind. She imagined Olympus with its new designs as she marveled at the beauty inside of the dull cave.

Suddenly, after much quiet, she heard a scream. It came from the abyss to where the brook vanished. Annabeth jumped up and hurried to the other end of the cave. More shouts ensued from the hole. They were familiar. Not Percy-familiar, but familiar. The low pitch, the dark, gravelly creak of it. Someone she knew was trapped in there. Annabeth ran back to the dead forest, glancing guiltily at torch-lit tunnel as she did. As she shook awake Snorty, she wondered if she was making a mistake. After, all Hazel had gone through all this trouble for the sake of finding either Percy or Nico. But Annabeth wasn't one to leave a friend behind.

She half-dragged the giant to the hole, and thanked the gods that it was large enough for the both of them.

"Vade!" she commanded. And it looked at her as if she were nuts. Maybe she was.

"_Vade!_" she repeated with more force. And the creature picked her up and reluctantly crawled into the hole.

Darkness enveloped them, and frighteningly, the screams to fade. Only the churning waters could be heard.


	57. Chapter 57

**Okay, the weather's bearing down on me so I'm stuck between snoring off into la-la land until noon or writing! Tough decision! But sleep can wait- here's the next chapter! **

57 Leo

_If there they made an Olympic sport out of speed walking, she would definitely get gold,_ Leo thought, annoyed at Annabeth's pace. He had to keep hidden, so he lagged behind, but at some point he'd realize that he was too far behind and have to jog up- risking his cover.

Leo stepped finally out of gloomy and depressing landscape of the tunnels into a slightly less foreboding, gloomy and depressing cave. A brook ran through its middle, disappearing on one side into a hole.

Leo walked ahead into the tunnel that continued at the far side. This one was lit by torches that burned a beautiful blue and smelled sweet like apple wood. He walked on for another three hours until his legs grew weary. He was disappointed in himself- he could almost bet that Annabeth wasn't anywhere near ahead, and he was too tired for another risky jog.

So he hoped to the gods that she wasn't too far ahead and dug a small hollow into the side of the tunnel wall, just at a curve, where a passing stranger wouldn't likely notice. He drew a blanket from his tool belt and took a heavenly bite of his ambrosia- which, by the by, did _not_ taste like tofu- and went to bed.

His sleep was for the most part peaceful, until, two hours in, he dreamt of his father.

Hephaestus was clad in buckskins and gold armor that had a buttery glow against the dull green background. In his hand, he wielded a great big hammer and by his side was an anvil where a strange chain rested.

_Hey, man!_ Leo exclaimed.

Hephaestus frowned as if slightly disturbed by his son's informal greeting. He kept quiet though and put down his hammer so he could pick up the glowing chain.

_What's that for?_ Leo asked with much curiosity- he couldn't recognize the metal- it glowed green, with a tint of gold. _What's it made of?_

_New material. Strong enough to keep Gaea tamed. _Hephaestus said, slightly proud.

_No way. _

_Yes way, _Hephaestus grinned as he tried out the phrase. Not really the extrovert that was his son, he found pleasure in the small expression.

_What're you going to call it? What's it for?_

_Call it? I don't know yet. We'll see. What's it for? To tame Gaea, like I said. When you wake up it'll be by your side. Chain her hands together and the rest will be done. _

Leo was so flabbergasted that he almost woke from the dream. _What? What'd you say!? How am I supposed to do that? I don't recon she's just going to hand over her palms and let some demigod put her in shackles._

_Your charmspeak friend might come in handy._ Hephaestus told him grimly. In his face it was obvious that he wasn't too keen on his friendship with the daughter of Aphrodite. _Now, see, don't let yourself fall for those types, Leo-_

_DAD! _Leo muttered, exasperated. _Keep up with the gossip will you!? Jason's after her._

_Okay, okay, but I just wanted to make sure-_

_So, this chain… _Leo interrupted, suddenly fascinated by the history of its creation. _How'd you make it? And what's all this about "the rest will be done"? _

_The gods are creating plans. My part is to create this metal. The rest I am prohibited from telling you- in case you fail in your mission and Gaea learns of our plans._

_Gee, thanks for the motivation, dad. _Leo muttered.

_You're welcome._ Hephaestus replied, and Leo wondered if he'd caught the sarcasm.

_Listen, _Leo said, remembering his obligations to Athena. _I have something else I need to…_

_Leo. Not to harm your ego…_Hephaestus started kindly. _But, you've already lost the girl._

In his dream, Leo was grateful that his friends weren't there to do a "facepalm". _Well, that's out of the way. Let's do this. Who's giving a ride to Gaea's place? _

_Hermes. Be ready by noon._

The dream faded away like light seeping out of the sky at dusk. He woke in the hollow and as Hephaestus had promised, the chain was layed out his lap like a kilt. Its green tint reminded him of the algae at the bottom of the lake at Camp Half-Blood.

He had a urge to get up and continue his hunt for Annabeth, but surely killing Gaea was more important? Annabeth was the last person who needed protection- he had only followed Athena's orders out of fear- she was probably the strongest in all of the Greek demigods. _Well, it's hard to beat _me,_ but it wouldn't be fair to judge like that…_he chuckled to himself.

He was going to kill Gaea- at last. Well, maybe not kill her himself, but he'd take part. For the moment, at least, it was enough.

**Please Review! (Criticism welcomed) **


	58. Chapter 58

**Please Review- and tell me who you think the One is...**

**58**

The dark was eerie, but the creature that stirred within it was eerier- Gaea. Goddess, she would not, could not be. Such creatures of such names did not have mangled limbs or ragged faces. They should not have been clad in mountain peaks and river valleys, nor in desserts of ice and sand, nor in simple plains of lilies, nor in fields of lavender. Pretty as she was, she was not human, and the demigods were filled with hatred for this anathema. They cherished the sights of these lands, but they hated to see them upon the body of this creature. And creature they would call her in their hearts. What else?

Swart was her face, and her features, even guised as they were as hills, lakes, or boulders, could not hide her hideous emotions. Her vigilant eyes were the craters of two great, sunken volcanoes, and in their bowls broiled her hatred in the form of scalding lava. Her nose, the gentle slope of a mighty sand dune, bore in its nostrils creatures of the dessert-night: snakes, lizards, and crawlers. Her skin was rosy, like it had been scrubbed ruthlessly- on it grew pink granite, and it was not in the least soft. Her lips were a great crevice that ran in the still shape of a wicked smile. But not wicked- for it worse- no word could have described its revolting contours, and over the cliff of it ran creepers that bore withered flowers that glistened with dew and sparkled like tigers' eyes.

It was not something of beauty, that face, and one would be amazed to think that the fair earth was child of such a mother. And had the sun chariot of Apollo not ran across the realms of Gaea's fallen husband each day, there could have been a chance that it would not held so much beauty, and borne so many good creatures. But it did, the sun, and so the demigods existed- facing the eyes of this _goddess_, as they called it out of fear, who was better liked asleep.

Her voice now slithered round them like a stream round the bend of a river. And the demigods knew where they were, but not why, save for one- child of the Metal Worker.

"Foolish are the Gods, as they call themselves, those traitorous wretches! Foolish are they to put their hopes into their children, and then, children through humans! _Demi_-gods, not gods, are you! Fear not, though! I will not harm you; there is time yet for that. First, let me offer generosity purer than you have ever laid your weakly eyes upon! I say to you now: spare your good souls from the minds of the Gods! Walk into my arms where you will find true kindness! Spare your souls from their counsels and abandon what they call fatherly and motherly love! Those rulers who sit upon their thrones as their children walk into the grasps of the earth herself! Abandon them as they have you!"

The Seven trembled. Their hearts, foolishly brave as they were, whimpered under the might of the _Goddess_. Her voice seemed to fall into their chests and grasp about their hearts and lungs with branch-like hands, as if to smother their wills and taint their desires.

They were given a pause- a pause to release their grip on their will and fall to Her power, or a pause to bite at the rotten roots that were her fingers.

The moment passed and the decisions were made and they, like magic, ran across the minds of the Seven. Names were not known, but the decisions were heard in their minds. Four of the Seven had openly resisted. Two of the Seven did not seem to have the strength in them to resist her grip. And the remaining One had taken the foul path. Willingly.


	59. Chapter 59

**A big thanks to all of you guys who read my FanFiction for MOA! Here's the last chapter to be posted for this story! It came 8 days later than I'd hoped, but I suppose some of you haven't read the real Mark of Athena yet, like me, so I had to finish! (No Spoilers, I beg you!) Well here it is! :D I hope it kept you busy! **

**59**

**Part I: Percy**

He could smell her. Olive trees. Ambrosia. And countless memories besides.

**Part II: Annabeth**

It passed through her mind that seven decisions had been announced, including her own. Seven. Percy was there, in that… that room… that cave, or wherever they were.

"Percy!" she yelled out, and frantically thrust her head from side to side. _He must be hurt, he must be weak, he must need help_, were the stream of words that flooded her mind. But in the darkness, nothing but the goddess was illuminated. And despite her own decision to stand by Gaea, the goddess was an ugly sight.

The thought of Percy brought her mother into her mind. Her mother who'd betrayed her, just as Gaea had said. _I chose rightly. For me at least, this is the right choice._ _It wasn't a mistake. It couldn't have been. It isn't._

Annabeth, who'd always decided on tense topics in her own time, had been limited to the span of time it takes a demigod to blink. _To blink!_

But now, though no such information had been given to her, it seemed to her that she was doomed. As if Gaea would give her a chance to change her mind. Even her "purest of generosities" did not extend so far.

She wished badly that Athena had not caused her so much anger. Then she wouldn't have so quickly blurted out her answer. She wished more that she had taken the time to think. Maybe Athena had some wisdom yet. She _had_ warned that love tainted the mind and made the wisest of beings blind. But whether it was love that she had for Percy she didn't know, and she blushed in the darkness.

_Think Annabeth, think!_ she commanded herself. Then she stopped. _No! Don't think! Act on impulse! What evil ears are listening to my thoughts I do not know._

So she cluttered her mind with thoughts, so she wouldn't plan ahead, and let Gaea, if indeed she was listening, hear those plans.

"Annabeth, where are you?" came a rough voice. It resembled more the speech of an old man than who she _knew_ it had to be. Towards the end, his voice spluttered to a halt and broke into a muffled fit of coughs that sounded like a dying animal.

Anger again seized her. Her mother had done this him! And she was glad for once of her emotions- they would fool Gaea well.

"To the front of you, by the sound of it," she replied, but her voice cracked at "you" and she heard him sigh softly. _That_ sounded like a rake being dragged across brittle, crackling leaves.

Distant, almost out of earshot, she heard Jason's voice whisper, "Piper, Leo? You guys good?" And closer, yet still far, was the reply: "As good you can get when you're in the same room as mud-face over here."

_Oh, Leo._

Behind her, she heard a thud, followed immediately by a shallow and rough intake of air.

"Percy, is that you?" Annabeth asked and even as she did, she was running toward the sound.

There was a whining grunt. At that moment Annabeth ran into a wall. But wasn't as much a wall as something inside of her body itself- a great, dense plate of lead that had suddenly been slammed into her ribs. The clang-like sound resonated loudly, and she stepped back and fell to the ground with her palms down behind her.

And she as she lay with all her limbs feeling the earth beneath her, she could _feel_ where they were. Not where, really, but how the land would look like, if the fair sun was ever cursed so as to lay her bright eyes on such a hideous place.

Gaea was at the center of place. It was a great cavern that wound in a great, perfect circle. She could feel that she was closest to the goddess. Her green-brown glow was bright and sickly warm on Annabeth's skin, on the back of her neck.

In front of her was the lead wall. And behind it was Percy, and someone else, and Annabeth could sense that this second person was in shock. Then there was another wall. And four others. With a start, Annabeth realized what the walls were- divisions. Partitions. Tiny rooms that held those demigods that had made the same decisions. One room for her, who'd accepted Gaea's "generosity". One room for Percy and the other demigod, who were too weak to fight. And another for the four. The four that would have to get them out of this mess.

Annabeth wondered who they were. She could guess who laid with Percy. The only other demigod that had recently been "pushed to the limits" as Percy had said, back when they'd been at Camp Jupiter. It seemed to her like lifetimes ago.

Then the rest behind the farthest partition. She could guess who they were as well. And she was glad. Very glad. They were powerful demigods. And in them, even if courage as bold as Percy's did not exist, in them, there was true power. And to her mind came the names- Frank, Piper, Jason, and Leo. Frank with his shapeshifting, Piper with her brainwashing, Jason with his leadership and lightning, and Leo with his blazing fires.

She smiled. She lifted her arms off the ground and thrust herself again at the lead wall that was invisible and invincible.

"Percy, get up!"

There was another splutter of coughs that roughly resembled words- "wait", "ouch", and "holy Blackjack". His voice strained and Annabeth could hear in it his effort, but she didn't comfort him. If she didn't work quickly, there wouldn't be anybody left to comfort. Just her and Gaea gazing over a dead world of earthborns and giants.

"Find Hazel. She's near you, or should be."

There was a quiet sigh of recognition, and Hazel's voice drowsily carried over the walls. "I'm fine. Leave me alone."

Annabeth didn't know where she was, but the ground under her feet was old. Very, very old. Older even than the Olympians- from the time when Ouranos, God of the Skies existed. As unlikely as it seemed, they were at the center of the Earth, at some cold place where the bubbling rocks had been chilled into a grey, uneven floor.

"Leave you alone? There isn't time for that, darling. Soon, after I defeat you all, except my one helper, I will have to reach my heather-crowned fingers toward the gates of Hades and open them. All the dead from Tartarus, save a few, will escape and all who refused to bow to my power with fly to it.

"Now, Olympians. You must decide. You shall you follow?"

Points of light appeared. No doubt the gods were in their true forms, but their greatness was made subtle by the darkness of the place. Farthest away there was a white light, beside it an indigo, beside it a grey, and if it was possible, a blackness even darker than the rest, though it was still, somehow, a "light." More, appeared, an amber glow, like one from a hearth, then one blazing fury, both red and orange and yellow, as if from a furnace. Yet more came. A deep red, maroon, like dried blood, and a shining, clear silver, and most brilliant of all, a deep golden point. Beside was a rainbow-like color, ever changing and enchanting, then one light tan like wheat, another blurry brown-grey, blurry because it was fluttering like wings. Then at last appeared a fruity purple. Most furious of all, a blinding point of teal.

Fourteen lights in all- no doubt Dionysus and Hestia had both wanted to come, and Hades was breaking the old tradition and bearing the name of "Olympian". Not one of the lights appeared beside Annabeth, nor behind the partition in front of her. Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Hades, Hestia, Hephaestus, Ares, Artemis, Apollo, Aphrodite, Demeter, Hermes, Dionysus, and last but no least, Hera, all stood around the four.

Together as one, Athena and Ares shouted into the gloom-"Let war begin!"

**...**

Annabeth had closed her eyes. But Gaea's rotting picture remained burnt into her mind- a tongue lolling out of her blackened lips hideously, her arms and legs bleeding and bound together with Leo's chains.

"Annabeth?"

"Speak of the devil…" she muttered.

"The real devil's in chains. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to thank you- you promised me onboard the Argo II to that I'd be there to kill Gaea. And I did get to do it. You don't know it, but if I hadn't been following you underground, Hephaestus wouldn't have been able to come to my thoughts. They were all in the Underworld, you know- hiding from Gaea in the Godly realm closest to hers. Olympus was too obvious a home for them. And they were told to keep the use of powers at a minimum, at Athena's command. If I hadn't been following you, my father wouldn't have gotten to give me a dream or give me the chains- I'd be too far away. Too much energy, as little as it is, would be spent."

Annabeth barely followed his words. She didn't need to.

All she _needed_ was Percy, and she knew that hoping for his survival was pointless. Hoping that his death was quick, now there was something useful to do.

The memory of the fight was erased from her mind. They'd done it somehow. The gods had survived. Had hours, or months passed? How had everyone gotten so, _so_ hurt? Fourteen gods and seven demigods against one wicked mind. And there had still been casualties. Nothing worse, though. Or at least not yet.

**Part III: Percy**

Death was sweet; it smelled of olives and stroked his hair.

**The End.**


	60. Chapter 60

Okay, so obviously there was a lot of confusion about the ending? Sorry it didn't meet your expectations guys! I admit, I didn't put as much work into those last chapters as I could have. I get that you guys are confused.

It's been a MONTHS since you've finished reading the FanFiction, but hey, better late than never; okay, so, there's mud-face/Gaea in a cavern underground with all the Olympians, and a few extras, as well as the demigods. And Gaea's like, "Yo, whose on my side?" And everyone's like "Pfft, like I'd side with _you_." Except Annabeth- because she's furious at her mom for everything she's done, especially to Percy, without thinking, she chooses Gaea. She tries to use that to her advantage, during the war the occurs after Athena and Mars (for the life of me, I can't remember his Greek name) decide that it's time for some arrogant-goddess-butt-kicking. In other words, godly war.

Oh yeah, Ares. -.- That's his name.

And then, after the war's over (when I wrote the dot dot dots: ...) Leo thanks Annabeth for keeping her promise. Which I'll admit, was a failed attempt at fulfilling the "An oath to keep with a final breath" part of the Prophecy of Seven. Anywayy, Annabeth's thoughts reveal the horrible condition Percy's in, so bad she just hopes his death is quick and painless.

I switch POVs to Percy, and end the "book" with the line "Death was sweet; it smelled of olives and stroked his hair."

That was Annabeth, stroking his hair, by the way, if it wasn't already obvious.

Okay, well, I'm really kinda annoyed at myself that I didn't make the ending as good as you guys would have liked.

That's your cue- now you say, "Oh, greenseas, though your ending was absolute horse manure, we all love you because you're just that awesome. Like Leo. That dude rocks."

Hmm… I think that's it! Anyways, please, if you have some time, tell me how the ending could have been less terrible! ;) Enjoy your holidays and have a seriously demigod-worthy New Years! Hopefully, it'll be the kind that doesn't involve sea monsters and crabby gods.

P.S.: Have you guys read Mark of Athena yet? I just got it, so, please, no major spoilers- but did anyone have trouble breathing regularly for the first 20 pages? :D And Rick Riordan- that guy must have been researching teenagers, cause this last book has sooo much humor! For those fellow 9gaggers, meme-lovers, and rage-comic creators out there, did anyone notice the part when Percy's like "You, sir, are a ray of sunshine" to Jason? XD Like a sir! I love that man! Percy, not Rick Riordan. I understand _now_ that it's considered weird for a teenage girl to be in love with a 40-something year old guy that writes awesomely, but, hey, that's R.R.! Anyyyyywayyyyyys- I'm going to enjoy the snow here in the Balkans now, and wait for the 2-foot icicle (no kidding) outside my apartment window to drop down. It's like waiting for Percy to butcher the pronunciation of some Greek name- it's just _bound_ to happen sometime. See ya guys! Thanks for sticking out and reading my fanfic to the end- even if it was bad! :D Have an awesome life.


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